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a\" 







RT. REV. JOHN TUIGG, 

THIRD BISHOP OF PITTSBURG AND ADMINISTRATOR OF ALLEGHENY. 



A HISTORY 



OF THE 



Catholic Church 



IN THE DIOCESES OF 



Pittsburg and Allegheny 



FROM ITS 



ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME, 



REV. A. A. LAMBING, 

Author of " The Orphan's Friend," " Mixed Marriages," 
" The Sunday-School Teacher's Manual," etc. 



'. ■ '-380. ,^-^^ 



•6Jati)er u}) tfje frasments t$at remain, lest tije^ tie lost/* 



NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, and ST. LOUIS : 

BENZIGER BROTHERS, 

Printers to the Holy Apostolic See. 
1880. 



' >^;:^ 



APPROBATION 



We hereby cordially approve of the work entitled " A His- 
tory OF THE Catholic Church in the Dioceses of Pittsburgh 
AND Allegheny," etc. 

The author, Rev. A. A. Lambing, a most worthy Priest of 
this Diocese, and Rector of the Church of St. Mary of Mercy, 
this city, is entitled to great credit for the care and labor which 
he has bestowed on its compilation. 

Believing this History to be as faithful as it was possible to 
render it with the material at hand, we take pleasure in recom- 
mending it to the clergy and laity, and we hope that it will meet 
with the success which so useful and meritorious a production 
deserves. 

t J- TUIGG, 
Bishop of Pittsburgh and Administrator of Allegheny. 

Pittsburgh, Pa., 

May 20, 1880. 



Kmptimatur: 

JOHN, CARDINAL McCLOSKEY, 

Archbishop of New York, 

i 



Copyright, i88o, by BENZIGER BROTHERS. 



PREFACE 



It is my good fortune to be a descendant of one of the 
first Catholic families that penetrated the wilds to plant the 
faith in western Pennsylvania, and to have been early familiar- 
ized with accounts of the privations and sufferings to which 
both priests and people were subjected in those early days. 
From childhood these narrations possessed a charm which, 
while it made them interesting at the time, aided also in 
engraving them on the memory. Acquaintance with the 
history of the Church increased as time went on, and when I 
became associated with others in the publication of the 
Catholic Journal a few years ago, I ventured upon a few 
historical articles of a general character. Finding they 
proved interesting to many readers, they were continued. 
Different congregations and institutions in the diocese were 
then sketched in a series of articles, amounting in all to 
more than sixty, until the publication of the paper was 
suspended. 

Seeing that a large amount of historical data had been 
collected, and that the publication of the articles in the 
Journal had elicited further information and enabled me to 
correct erroneous statements ; and having been at pains and 
expense in bringing the information together, I determined 
to recast whatever had been written, supply what was still 
wanting, and publish a history of the two dioceses. Infor- 
mation was then carefully sought from every available source, 
and such scraps of time as could be spared from the care of 
a large congregation and other duties were devoted to the 
work. But writing a consecutive history^ was found to be 
different from penning a newspaper article ; and a work of 
this character especially is surrounded with more and greater 
difficulties than people are apt to imagine. Materials are 



A PREFACE. 

meagre, are scattered in many places, and collected with 
difficulty ; for the first priests on the mission were content to 
labor and to leave the record of their deeds to God, and there 
was as yet no local Catholic periodical by which they might 
have been permanently recorded and transmitted to future 
generations. Hence we have to depend upon tradition for 
many things, and while there are few persons left to transmit 
it from the beginning, even their accounts do not always 
agree, and tradition is found at variance with tradition. In 
our own day the history of the Church in our midst is being 
made, events are transpiring before our eyes, and it is diffi- 
cult to estimate them at their proper value. The actors are 
yet on the stage, and it is a delicate matter to speak of them 
always in such a manner as to give entire satisfaction, and 
generally impossible not to speak of them at all. Besides, 
from the condition of the Church in this part of the country, 
where it is rapidly developing, where new congregations are 
constantly being formed and priests ordained, and where 
frequent changes and promotions are rendered necessary by 
the very nature of things, records of important events are 
seldom systematically kept, and it would be impossible in 
many cases for the pastor now in possession to give more 
than a general outline of the history of the place before his 
arrival. The history is too recent to be found in any printed 
record, except perhaps in fugitive newspaper articles. 

Another difficulty is the impossibility of avoiding a certain 
degree of sameness in the description of the churches and the 
sketches of congregations, which must of necessity resemble 
each other in many respects. 

Why then did I undertake the history ? ■ The reason has 
in part been given. As a further reasoji I may be permitted 
to state — if the reader will accept it in a mercenary age like 
the present — that the difficulty I found in collecting materials 
for the sketches in the Journal, in cases in which it depended 
on oral tradition, made me feel that what was a difficulty now 
would be an impossibility a few years hence ; and that con- 
sequently much more that is interesting and useful would be 
irrevocably lost than is already buried in oblivion. I wished, 
as the motto on the title-page puts it, to collect the fragments 



PREFACE, 2 

that remain^ lest they too be lost. Besides, the privations 
and sufferings endured by our fathers who planted the faith 
in our midst could not, it was felt, but be a matter of interest 
to us who are reaping the fruits of their sacrifices. 

The following are the principal sources from which infor- 
mation has been drawn : 

Registres des Baptemes et Sepultures qui se sont faits au 
Fort Duquesne pendant les ann^es 1753, 1/54, I755> ^^ i/S^? 
from which we learn nearly all that is known of Catholicity 
during the French occupation of the present site of Pittsburg. 

Leben und Wirken des Prinzen Demetrius Augustin Gallitzin, 
a valuable work by Rev. Henry Lemcke, who was for six 
years the companion and spiritual director of the illustrious 
subject, and who inherited all the letters and papers that he 
left at his death. 

A Memoir on the Life and Character of the Rev. Prince 
Demetrius A. de Gallitzin, etc., by Very Rev. Thos. Heyden. 
This work, although containing a certain amount of informa- 
tion, is not of great value to the historian. 

Life of Demetrius Augustin Gallitzin, Prince and Priest^ by 
Sarah M. Brownson, a work the principal value of which is 
found in the numerous original letters and documents it pre- 
sents to the reader. 

St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien^ compiled by one of the fathers 
of the Benedictine order. Although inartistic in its general 
make-up, it is replete Avith valuable information, and contains 
several original documents relating to the history of Catho- 
licity in Westmoreland County from the earliest settlement to 
the present time. It also gives a sketch of all the congrega- 
tions at any time under the jurisdiction of the Benedictine 
fathers. I have been kindly permitted to draw at pleasure 
from this work. 

Letters of Bishop Kenrick of Philadelphia, of which I have 
a number relating to the German Catholics of Pittsburg 
between the years 1835 and 1840. 

Notes of Bishop O'Connor of Pittsburg, contained in a 
small blank-book, and relating principally to his sojourn 
as Vicar-General from 1841 to 1843, ^^d to his visitation of 
the diocese in 1846 and 1847. 



6 PREFACE. 

Diocesan Register, by the same prelate, which though brief, 
and evidently written a short time before his resignation, yet 
contains valuable information. 

Catholic Directories. I have a series almost complete, 
which, although at fault in some minor details, may yet be 
consulted with profit. 

The Catholic. Through the kindness of the publisher, Mr. 
J. Porter, I have been able to examine and take notes on the 
entire file, embracing a period of almost thirty-six years. Its 
columns are not so replete with local intelligence as might be 
desired, but yet nothing of importance transpiring in the 
diocese is passed over in silence. 

To these may be added the United States Catholic Miscel- 
la7ty, the Catholic Herald, and the Catholic Telegraph, which 
were frequently consulted in matters relating to our early 
history ; scraps of manuscripts of Very Rev. J. A. Stillenger; 
a brief sketch of the different places he visited, by Rev. Jas. 
Bradley, the venerable pastor of Newry ; and other works 
referred to in the course of the history. But the principal 
source of information were the visits I paid to nearly all the 
churches and institutions of the diocese, when whatever m- 
formation was to be had was collected on the spot. 

As regards the secular portion of the history, it has been 
drawn in a great measure from the following sources : 

Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, by Sher- 
man Day, 1843. This work is very valuable, and contains 
accounts of all the counties and the principal towns and 
villages of the State from the earliest times to the date of 
publication. 

The Monongahela of Old. The copy I have is incomplete, 
and relates principally to the early history of Fayette and 
Somerset counties. 

The Annals of the West, a work compiled by James R. 
Albach, 1856. It is a standard work of great value, and is rare. 

History of Allegheny County, 1876. This, though to some 
extent a picture-book of fine houses, etc., as such works too 
often are, is yet of some value. The historical part is from 
the pen of S. W. Durant, and contains a considerable amount 
of information. 



! 
PREFACE. 



The Olden Time, by Neville B. Craig, a monthly publica- 
tion issued in 1846 and 1847 ^.nd afterwards bound in two 
8vo volumes. It is composed principally of original docu- 
ments relating to the settlement and early history of the 
country around the head of the Ohio River. 

The History of Pittsburg, by the same author. This work 
was published in a small volume in 185 1, and is very rare 
and valuable. 

As regards the plan of the work, some difficulty was found 
in hitting upon the one that would be least open to objec- 
tion ; for while Catholicity was introduced from the east, the 
episcopal see that would seem to be the starting-point was 
established in the west. The following is the plan adopted. 
After laying a general foundation of civil history, as briefly as 
possible, the manner in which the first Catholics came and 
the places where they settled are pointed out. The history of 
Pittsburg is then taken up. The history of the Cathedral is 
made to some extent an epitome of that of the diocese. 
After it come the churches of Pittsburg and Allegheny City 
and Allegheny County. Then, as the best way of returning 
to the east to sketch the early settlements, the counties lying 
on the southern boundary of the State, in which the Catholic 
population is small, are taken up from west to east. From 
that point a more natural return is made to the west by the 
northern and central counties. The religious orders and edu- 
cational and charitable institutions close the work. Obituary 
notices of priests are inserted in the history of the church in 
which they last served, and at the time of their death. 

Some readers may regret that so few anecdotes are inter- 
spersed throughout the work. But it could not be otherwise 
if the book was to be confined within proper limits. The 
object has been to record facts and dates ; for while anec- 
dotes might be more interesting to some readers, the more 
judicious will seek after something of greater historical 
value. Not that anecdotes do not sometimes serve even bet- 
ter than facts to illustrate a subject or a character ; but being 
generally handed down by popular tradition, they are fre- 
quently of doubtful authenticity. 

Again, it may be thought that undue importance has been 



\ 

8 PREFACE. 

attached to the effects of the financial panic of 1873. In 
reply to this it would be more than sufficient to point to the 
condition especially of Pittsburg and the mining districts 
before and after that notable event. And it affected the 
Catholics both as individuals and as congregations more 
than it did the general population ; for it is with the Chris- 
tians of our day as it was with those in the time of St. Paul, 
there are not many rich nor great among us. While the 
capital and the cunning are furnished by those not of the one 
fold, it is the Catholics in a great measure who perform the 
manual labor and depend upon it for a living. Any one can 
readily imagine how great a calamity that must have been 
which in a single day, it might be said, threw thousands of 
honest laborers out of employment and forced them to walk 
the streets day after day in a vain attempt to find work enough 
to keep themselves and their families from starvation.* 
And to make matters worse, not a few of those who by 
toil and frugality had been able to lay up a few hundred dol- 
lars in the banks saw these suspend in many cases and rob 
them of the fruit of their industry. As a single instance I 
may say that, in the little congregation now entrusted to me, 
there were in the winter of 1874 and 1875 at least a hundred 
families in extreme want, whose only support beyond the 
hand of charity was one or two days' washing w^hich the 
wife was able to procure and a few cents which a boy de- 
rived from selling newspapers, while the husband, a strong, 
sober, industrious man, walked the streets in a fruitless at- 
tempt to find even a single day's employment. Out of the 
same little flock I have every opportunity of knowing that 
thousands of dollars were taken by the suspension of banks. 
I have known several instances in which day-laborers lost 
from $1200 to $1500. What effect this must have had on the 

* The following list of the manufactories of Allegheny County only, as fur- 
nished to the Secretary of the Interior, in the summer of 1879, will afford an 
idea of the industrial interests upon which Catholic laborers more than any others 
depended. There were 155 coal and coke companies, 14 blast-furnaces, 5 forges, 
53 rolling-mills, 58 glass-houses, 4 glass mould and press manufactories, 52 iron 
foundries, 17 brass foundries, 44 engine and machine shops, 17 boiler-yards, and 
647 miscellaneous manufactories, such as saw-mills, locomotive works, carriage 
and wagon shops, car works, breweries, cabinet manufactories, etc. 



PREFACE. 9 

spirit of poor men grown old in providing a staff for their 
declining years it is not difficult to imagine. What effect it 
must have had on the progress and the building up of 
religion will appear upon a moment's reflection. Yet this 
is but a single instance, and there were others perhaps even 
worse. Reflection on these will present the effects of the 
panic in their true light. 

I do not profess to have written a perfect work, nor to have 
avoided every error. On the contrary, I am conscious that 
there may be a number of minor inaccuracies. It could 
hardly be otherwise. All that I claim — and for this I may 
be pardoned for expecting credit — is to have carefully col- 
lected what was within my reach from written records, and 
to have sifted and weighed oral traditions so as to do what 
lay in my power to arrive at the truth. Nor do I expect to 
escape criticism ; on the contrary, I would wish to have any 
misstatement pointed out, provided that sufficient evidence 
is given that it is an error. But while fault may be found 
with what has not been done, the reader should not overlook 
the amount of labor, expense, and research necessary to pre- 
pare the work, imperfect though it may perhaps be in a few 
minor details. Errors, too, may be only apparent. Where 
statements depend upon tradition — and this it is well to bear 
in mind — it is sometimes extremely difficult to arrive at the 
truth ; for any one who will be at pains to try the experiment 
will find that there are generally half a dozen different, 
sometimes conflicting, traditions in the same locality regard- 
ing the same occurrence, and this perhaps an event that 
transpired within ten or fifteen years from the present day. 
And I have found persons not only differing from others in 
the accounts they gave of past events, but at variance even 
with their own previous statements. No statement has been 
made in these pages, no matter how trivial, without proof or 
what appeared to be the most reHable tradition. I have 
studiously sacrificed everything to truth, for this I regard as 
the one thing necessary in the historian. 

In conclusion I have to thank the Right Reverend Bishop, 
the reverend clergy secular and regular, the other members of 
religious orders, the religious and secular press, and a number 



lo PREFACE. 

of laymen to whom I applied for information, for the kindness 
and courtesy with which they furnished me with whatever 
was in their power and expressed their interest in the under- 
taking. 

Pittsburg, Pa., Feb. 26, i88o„ 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

PREFACE iii 

CHAPTER L — The Introduction of Catholicity into Western 
Pennsylvania. 
First settlers, Dutch, Swedes, Finns — The territory of Pennsylvania 
granted to William Penn — His treaty with the Indians — Irish and 
German immigration — The Jesuits in Maryland — Early Catholic settle- 
ments in Eastern Pennsylvania — The Catholics suspected of disloyalty 
— and persecuted — Catholics in Western Pennsylvania — The nationality 
and character of the settlers 17 

CHAPTER II.— Pittsburg. 

Early history of Pittsburg — French and English claims — Indians — Major 
Washington's mission to the French — English occupation — Fort 
Duquesne and its capture by the English — Baptismal register of Fort 
Duquesne — Fort Pitt — The town laid out — The Whiskey Insurrection 
—First Catholic settlers— Rev. B. J Flaget— Rev. F. X. O'Brien— First 
Catholic church — Very Rev. F. De Andreis — Rev. Ch. B. M'Guire — The 
Church enlarged — St. Paul's Church begun — The Nuns of St. Clare — 
Visit of Bishops Kenrick and Conwell — Death of Father M'Guire — 
Biographical notice 29 

CHAPTER III.— St. Paul's Church. 

Rev. John O'Reilly, pastor of St. Paul's — The church finished and dedicated 
— A description of it — The Germans take possession of St. Patrick's — 
The nuns of St. Clare withdraw — The Sisters of Charity arrive — An 
orphan asylum opened — New corgregations formed — Withdrawal of 
Father O'Reilly — His death — Sketch of his life — Arrival of Very Rev. 
Michael O'Connor — His work^ -He visits Rome .' . 49 

CHAPTER IV — History of Paul's Cathedral from the Erection 
of the See of Pittse i to its Division and the Erection of 
the See of Erie. 
The manner in which the Church was first governed in the United States — 
Pittsburg an episcopal see — Very Rev. M. O'Connor consecrated first 
Bishop — Sketch r his early life — Condition of the Church on his arrival 
— The first o- mation — The first synod — The colored chapel — The 
Catholic puV .ed — St. Michael's Diocesan Seminary — The Bishop visits 
Europe — T .^ first visitation of the diocese — The Cathedral in danger — 
Statistics — The Cathedral destroyed by fire — A new Cathedral commenced 
— The Bishop visits Rome — Erection of the See of Erie — Bishop O'Con- 
nor transferred thither — Statistics 55 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER v.— History of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Erection 
OF THE See of Erie to the Resignation of Bishop O'Connor. 
Visit of Cardinal Bedini — Know-Nothingism — Bishop O'Connor returns to 
Pittsburg — He visits Rome — Consecration of the Cathedral — A descrip- 
tion of the building — Decline of the Bishop's health — He travels in 
Europe and the Holy Land — Petitions for a coadjutor — Travels in Mexico 
— Thinks of resigning — Visits Rome — Resigns — His episcopate — Death 
— Biographical notice 71 

CHAPTER VI — History of St Paul's Cathedral from i860 to 1873. 
Statistics of the diocese — Appointment and consecration of Rt, Rev. 
Michael Domenec — Biographical notice — He visits Rome and Madrid — 
Rev J. Hickey, rector of the Cathedral — Father McMahon retires to 
Philadelphia — The new organ — The Bishop again visits Rome — The 
towers built — Consecration of Bishop Mullen of Erie — The Golden Age 
of Pittsburg — The Bishop again visits Rome to attend the Vatican 
Council — Death of Dr. Keogh. and biographical notice — The Sisters of 
Charity and the Ursuline Nuns — Death and sketch of Rev. D. Devlin — 
Little Sisters of the Poor — Sisters of the Good Shepherd — The CathoHc 
Institute 85 

CHAPTER VII. — History of St. Paul's Cathedral from 1873 to the 
Present Time. 
The new episcopal residence — Death of Father McMahon, with sketch of 
his life — The Italians — The Bishop visits Rome — Division of the diocese 
— Statistics — Consecration of Rt. Rev. John Tuigg, with sketch of his 
life — State of the diocese — The Cathedral on fire — Death of Rev. P. Cas- 
sidy, with sketch of his life — Bishop Domenec visits Rome — Resigns his 
see — Returns to Spain — His death — Closing scenes of his life — Reunion 
of the two dioceses — Improvements 96 

CHAPTER VIII. — Congregations formed from St. Paul's Cathedral. 
St. Patrick's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. Jas. Byrnes — St. Mary's 
Church — Church of the Sacred Heart — St. John the Baptist's Church — St. 
Peter's Pro-Cathedral, Allegheny City 106 

CHAPTER IX. — Congregations formed from St. Paul's Cathedral 
{Cone hided) 
St. Andrew's Church, Allegheny — Death and sketch of Rev. Denis O'Brien 
— St. Bridget's Church, Pittsburg — St. Joseph's (colored) Church — St. 
James' Church — St. John's Church — St. Stephen's Church — Death and 
sketch of Rev. P. M. Ward — St. Agnes' Church — Death and sketch of 
Rev. P. Kerr — St. Mary of Mercy's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. 
J. A. O'Rourke— and of Rev M. F. Devlin— St. Malachy's Church— St. 
Mary of the Mount 121 

CHAPTER X. — German Churches of Pittsburg and Allegheny. 

The advent of German Catholics in Pittsburg — Formation of a German 

congregation — St. Patrick's a German church — St. Mar^J^'s Chapel — 

Establishment of the Redemptorist Fathers in Pittsburg — St. Philomena's 

Church — Formation of new congregations — St. Michael's Church — The 



CONTENTS. 13 

Passionist Fathers — St. Joseph's Church, Mount Oliver — St. Martin's 
Church — St. Peter's Church 145 

CHAPTER XI. — German Churches of Pittsburg and Allegheny 
(yConcluded'). 
St. Mary's Church, Allegheny — Death and sketch of Rev. John Stiebel — 
St. Joseph's Church — Church of the Holy Name of Jesus — St. Winces- 
laus' Bohemian Church — Holy Trinity Church, Pittsburg — Death and 
sketch of Rev. Fr. Grimmer — and of Rev. Charles Schuler — The Carmel- 
ite Fathers — Sts. Peter and Paul's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. A. 
Hune, D.D. — St. Augustine's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. Philip 
Schmidt — The Capuchin Friars — St. Joseph's Church — St. Stanislaus' 
Polish Church 165 

CHAPTER XH. — Churches in Allegheny County. 

St. Joseph's Church, Verona — Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Plumb Creek — 
St. James' Church, Wilkinsburg — Braddock's Field — Chapel at Tarra 
Hill — St. Thomas' Church — Death and sketch of Rev. P. Hughes — St. 
Joseph's German Church — M'Keesport — St. Peter's Church — Death and 
sketch of Rev. N. Hoeres — and of Rev. Cajetan Klocker — St. Agnes' 
Church, Bull's Run — St. Patrick's Church, Alpsville — St. Michael's 
Church, Elizabeth — Death and sketch of Rev. M. J. Brazill — Transfigura- 
tion Church, Monongahela City, Washington County 186 

CHAPTER Xni. — Churches of Allegheny County {Concluded). 

St. Philip's Church, Broadhead — St. Luke's Church, Mansfield — Death and 
sketch of Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon — St. Joseph's German Church, Mansfield 
— St. Patrick's Church, Noblestown — St. Mary's German Church, 
Chartier's Creek — St. James' Church, Sewickley — St. Mary's German 
Church, Glenfield — St. Alphonsus' Church, Wexford — St. Teresa's Church, 
Perrysville — St. Mary's Church, Pine Creek — Death and sketch of Rev. 
M. Eigner — St. Joseph's Church, Sharpsburg — St. Mary's German 
Church — St. Anne's Church, Millvale 205 

CHAPTER XIV. — Catholicity in South-western Pennsylvania. 
General remarks — St. Anne's Church, Waynesburg — St. James' Church, 
West Alexander — Death and sketch of Rev. D. Hickey — Church of the 
Immaculate Conception, Washington — St. James' Church, Claysville — 
Other stations in Green and Washington counties — Fayette and Somer- 
set counties — Scenery, aborigines, Indian paths— First settlers — Browns- 
ville — First Catholic settlers — Pittsburg visited as a station from Browns- 
ville — St. Peter's Church, Brownsville — Uniontown — St. John's Church — 
Farmington Mission — General Braddock's grave — Church of the Immacu- 
late Conception, Connellsville — St. Aloysius' Church, Dunbar — Le Mont 
Furnace Mission — St. John the Baptist's Church, Scottdale — St. John 
the Baptist's Church, New Baltimore— St. Matthew's Church, Meyersdale 
— Death and sketch of Rev. Thos. Fitzgerald — Stations: Ursina, Sand 
Patch, Wellsburg, etc 225 

CHAPTER XV.— Bedford and Huntingdon Counties. 

General remarks on the early Catholic settlements— Bedford— St. Thomas' 



14 ^ CONTENTS. 

Church — Death and sketch of Very Rev, Thos. Heyden — St. John's 
Church, Clearville — St. Mary's Church, Shade Valley — Huntingdon — 
Early Catholic settlement — Holy Trinity Church — Death and sketch of 
Rev. P. B. Halloran — Mount Union — Church of the Immaculate Con- 
ception, Broad Top, . . 253 

CHAPTER XVI.— Blair County. 

General remarks — St. Patrick's Church, Newry — Rev. Jas. Bradley — St. 
Luke's Church, Sinking Valley — Hollidaysburg — Early Catholic settlers 
— St. Mary's Church — Conversion of Heyden Smith — St. Michael's Ger- 
man Church — Williamsburg — St. Joseph's Church — Altoona — St. John's 
Church — Lloydsville Mission — German Church of the Immaculate Con- 
ception — St. Matthew's Church, Tyrone 265 

CHAPTER XVII.— Cambria County. 

General features of the county — First settlers Catholics — Captain M'Guire 
— First visit of a priest — First appearance of Dr. Gallitzin — His parentage 
and early life — He visits America — Resolves to become a priest — Is 
ordained — His first missions — M'Guire's settlement — He takes up his 
residence in the future Loretto — St. Michael's Church — His estates — 
Loretto 282 

CHAPTER XVIII.— Cambria County {Continued:). 

Dr. Gallitzin as a land agent — As a pastor — Regulations for Mass, etc. — 
Sermons — Troubles — Death of the Princess Gallitzin — Wolves in sheep's 
clothing — Settlement of the litigations regarding his estate — Gradual ex- 
tension of the colony — Bishop Egan visits Loretto — Dr. Gallitzin as a 
writer — A new church — Scanty remittances from his estate — He asks aid 
from his friends — The crisis — Relief — The little chapel — Bishop Kenrick 
of Philadelphia — Rev. Henry Lemcke arrives at Loretto — Fr. Lemcke at 
Ebensburg — Other writings of Dr. Gallitzin — The end approaching — Last 
illness — Death of Dr. Gallitzin — Remarks on the Loretto settlement — 
Church property — Dr. Gallitzin's successors 299 

CHAPTER XIX. — Cambria County {Continued) — Congregations formed 
FROM Loretto. 
St. Bartholomew's Church, Wilmore — German Church of the Immaculate 
Conception, New Germany — St. Aloysius' Church, Summitville — Death 
and sketch of Rev! Thos. M'Cullagh — and of Rev. John Hackett — St. 
Patrick's Church, Gallitzin — St. Augustine's Church, St. Augustine — 
Death and sketch of Rev. Ed. Burns — St. Monica's Church, Chest 
Springs 328 

CHAPTER XX.— Cambria County {Concluded). 

Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Ebensburg — Carrolltown — St. Joseph's 
Church, Hart's Sleeping Place — St. Benedict's Church, Carrolltown — St. 
Laurence's Church, Glen Council — St. Boniface's Church, St. Boniface — 
St. Nicholas' Church, St. Nicholas — Johnstown — St. John Gualbert's 
Church — Death and sketch of Rev. P. Brown — St. Joseph's German 
Chuich — German Church of the Immaculate Conception, Cambria City.. 343 



CONTENTS. 1 1 

CHAPTER XXL— Westmoreland County. 

The place it occupies in our history — First Catholic settlement in Western 
Pennsylvania — The first Mass — The first priest — The first church — Death 
of Rev. Theodore Browers — Troubles — Rev. P. Heilbron — New settle- 
ments — Death of Father Heilbron — Rev. Ch. B. M'Guire — Trustees — 
Rev. Terence M'Girr — Arrival of Rev. J. A. Stillenger — The Bishop and 
the trustees — The new church 35r) 

CHAPTER XXn. — Westmoreland County {Contimtta)—r-^Y{.Y. Benedic- 
tine Order at St. Vincent's. 
Departure of the Benedictines from Germany and their arrival at St. 
Vincent's — Condition of the place — Taking possession — The first ordina- 
tion — Spread of the order — St. Vincent's an independent priory — Improve- 
ments — A seminary and college opened — St. Vincent's an exempt abbey 
— Further improvements — The congregation — Present state of the order 
— Church of the Most Holy Sacrament, Greensburg — St. Boniface's 
Chapel, Chestnut Ridge — St. Vincent's Chapel, Youngstown — Ligonier, 
Church of the Holy Family — Bolivar Station — St. Mary's Church, New 
Florence 373 

CHAPTER XXni. — Westmoreland County {Concluded) — Indiana 
County. 
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel — St. Martin's Church, New Derry — 
Church of the Holy Family, Latrobe — St. Boniface's Church, Penn. 
— Church of St. Mary of the Assumption, Irwin — Sutersville Mission 
— Smithton Mission — Indiana County — St. Patrick's Church, Cameron 
Bottom — Church of the Seven Dolors, Strongstown — St. Bernard's 
Church, Indiana — Blairesville— Sts. Simon and Jude's Church — Death 
and sketch of Very Rev. J. A. Stillenger — St. Matthew's Church, 
Saltzburg 387 

CHAPTER XXIV. — The Donegal Settlement — Armstrong County. 
Character and nationality of the colonists — Crossing the ocean and coming 
West — Settlement — The first visit of a priest — Armstrong County — St. 
Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek — A resident priest — The church farm — 
Death and sketch of Rev. P. O'Neil — and of Rev. P. Rafferty — and of 
Rev. Jos. Cody — and of Rev. P. M. Doyle — Church of St. Mary of the 
Nativity, Freeport — St. Joseph's Church, Natrona, Allegheny County — 
St. Patrick's Church, Brady's Bend — St. Mary's German Church— Kit- 
tanning, St. Mary's Church — Holy Guardian Angel's Church, Easly's Set- 
tlement — Parker City, an oil-country town — Church of the Immaculate 
Conception 409 

CHAPTER XXV.— Butler County. 

The Indians and Moravians — Location of the Catholic inhabitants — St. 
Peter's German Church, Butler — St. Paul's Church — St. Bridget's Chapel, 
M 'Neil's Settlement — St. Wendelin's Chapel — St. Mary's German Church, 
Summit — St. Joseph's Church, North Oakland — St. Joseph's German 
. Church — St. John's Church, Clearfield — Church of the Mother of Sorrows, 
Millerstown — St. Alphonsus' Church, Murrinsville — Death and sketch of 
Rev. Jos. Haney — Chapel at Fairview — St. James' Church, Petrolia 439 



1 6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVL— Beaver and Lawrence Counties. 

Visit of a French missionary — Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, Beaver — Death 
and sketch of Rev. Jas. Reid — St. Cecilia's Church, Rochester — St. John 
the Baptist's Church, Baden — St. Joseph's Church, New Brighton — St. 
Rose's Church, Cannelton — St. Mary's German Church, Beaver Falls — 
St. James' Church, New Bedford — St. Mary's Church, Newcastle — St. 
Francis Xavier's Church, Stonerstown — St. Teresa's Church, Clinton 454 

CHAPTER XXVH.— Colleges— Religious Orders of Men. 

Remarks — St. Michael's Seminary — The Brothers of the Presentation — St. 
Vincent's Abbey and "College — The Franciscan Brothers — St. Francis' 
College — The Congregation of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart 
of Mary — The Pittsburg Catholic College — Other religious orders — The 
Passionists — The Oblates of St. Charles Boromeo — Death and sketch of 
Rev. P. M'C. Morgan 470 

CHAPTER XXVHL— Religious Orders of Women— Academies. 

The Nuns of St. Clare — St. Clare's Academy — The Sisters of Charity — The 
Sisters of Mercy — St. Xavier's Academy — St. Aloysius' Academy — The 
Sisters of St. Francis — The Sisters of St. Joseph — Mount Gallitzin Semi- 
nary — The Benedictine Nuns — The Ursuline Nuns — Other religious com- 
munities 483 

CHAPTER XXIX. — Charitable Institutions — Religious Orders of 
Women. 
The Mercy Hospital, Pittsburg — St. Francis Hospital, Pittsburg — 
Asylum of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Allegheny — St. Paul's R. C. 
Orphan Asylum, Pittsburg — St. Joseph's German Asylum, Allegheny 
— St. Michael's German Orphan Asylum, Pittsburg — House of the Good 
Shepherd, Allegheny — Conclusion 496 

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.— Errors in our Early Catholic His- 
tory. 

" The old priest" mentioned by Wm. Penn in 1686 — The first priest to say 
Mass in Philadelphia— The first church in Philadelphia— Miss Elizabeth 
M'Gawley's Chapel near Nicetown 521 



A History of the Catholic Church 



IN THE 



DIOCESES OF PITTSBURG AND ALLEGHENY. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE INTRODUCTION OF CATHOLICITY INTO WESTERN 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

First settlers : Dutch, Swedes, Finns — The territory of Pennsylvania granted to 
William Penn — His treaty with the Indians — Irish and German immigration — 
The Jesuits in Maryland — Early Catholic settlements in Eastern Pennsyl- 
vania — Suspicion and legislation against Catholics — Catholic settlements in 
Western Pennsylvania — The nationality and character of the people. 

Before entering upon the history of Catholicity it will 
be necessary to glance briefly at the civil and political history 
of the State, that the reader may be better prepared to form 
an idea of the field in which the Church labored, and the 
difficulties she had to encounter. The first attempt at a 
colonization of the territory embraced within the present 
State of Pennsylvania was made by the Dutch, under the 
auspices of the East India Company, who began a settlement 
in the south-eastern part of the State in the year 1609. A 
large body of Swedes and Finns followed about thirty years 
later, and settled in the same place. But the power of the 
latter soon predominated, and they continued to rule until 
1664, when the territory passed into the hands of the English. 
It was granted to William Penn, a member of the Society of 
Quakers, or Friends, by King James II., by royal charter, 
dated March 4th, 168 1, in payment of a debt of ;^ 16,000 due 
his father. Admiral Sir William Penn, from the British Govern- 



1 8 HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

ment. The charter vested the perpetual proprietaryship of 
the vast region in him and his heirs, on the fealty of the 
annual payment of two beaver-skins. He designed at first to 
call the territory New Wales, and afterwards suggested 
Sylvania, but the king peremptorily ordered the name of 
Pennsylvania to be inserted, in honor, as he said, of his late 
friend the admiral. Aided by the advice of Sir Wilham 
Jones, and Henry, the brother of Algerton Sydney, he drew 
up a liberal scheme of government and laws for the colony, 
by which all who believed in God were permitted to worship 
him according to the dictates of their own consciences. He 
embarked for America, and landed in October, 1681. After 
several meetings with the Indians he made his famous treaty 
with them at Shackamaxon, now Kensington, at the end of 
November — a treaty that was never sworn to and never 
broken.* There was at this time, according to the most re- 
liable authorit}^, a little less than 50,000 Indians within the 
limits of the colony, being for the most part Delawares and 
their descendants. f Having settled the affairs of the govern- 
ment, Penn returned to England in 1684, leaving a population 
of about 7000 Europeans in the colony. 

The first large accession to the population next to the 
Quakers was an immigration from the north of Ireland, from 
171 5 to 1725, which was gradually diffused over the whole 
colony, but Avhich finally settled most thickl}^ in the western 
and south-western portions. They were Presbyterians of the 
most illiberal school, as will be seen in the sequel. The next 
accession was a German immigration, begun about the year 
1730, which peopled several of the eastern counties, and which 
has given prominence to that nationality in all the subsequent 
history of the State.:|: 

The colony was governed by the provisions of Penn's con- 
stitution till the breaking out of the war of the Revolution. 

The truths of our holy religion were first preached in 
Pennsylvania by the Jesuit fathers from Maryland. A brief 
sketch of the advent of the Society into that State will conse- 
quently not be out of place. As earl}- as 1570 Father Segura, 

* American Cyclopedia, art. William Penn, f Hist, of Allegheny County, p. 12^ 
X Amer Cycl., art. Penna. 



THE FIRST ENGLISH MISSIONARIES. 19 

with eight other fathers of the Society and an Indian con- 
vert whom they had educated and named Don Luis, sailed 
from Florida and entered the Chesapeake Bay, which they 
named St. Mary's. But after landing and travelhng a con- 
siderable distance into the interior they were betrayed into 
the hands of hostile Indians by the treacherous Don Luis, and 
murdered. The soil thus watered by the blood of the martyrs 
lay uncultivated for sixty-four years until the colony under 
Lord Baltimore, the pioneer of religious liberty in the New 
World, landed and took possession of Maryland on the Feast 
of the Annunciation, March 25th, 1634. The date was auspi- 
cious, and the pious reader of American history cannot but 
observe from this and many kindred occurrences the manner 
in which the Immaculate Queen of Heaven claimed the New 
World for her own from the days of Columbus, and still 
claims it. Accompanying Lord Baltimore were two Jesuit 
fathers, Revs. Andrew White and John Altham. They were 
the first English-speaking missionaries who labored for the 
salvation of the Indians in the Western Continent. Father 
White justly merits the title of Apostle of Maryland."^ Amid 
every vicissitude the Society of Jesus has since held posses- 
sion of the territory purchased with so much blood. 

Catholics were found at an early date in Eastern Pennsyl- 
vania. The first chapel in which Mass was offered up was a 
small frame building that stood south of Walnut Street and 
east of Fourth, near the site of the present St. Joseph's 
Church, Philadelphia. But after the dethronement of James IL, 
in 1689, the penal laws began to be enforced ; and Penn, who 
was looked upon with suspicion for his attachment to the cause 
of the late king, wrote from London, under date of July 29th, 
1708, to James Logan, his colonial governor: "There is a 
complaint against your government that you suffer pubHc 
Mass in a scandalous manner.f Pray send the matter of fact, 
for ill use of it is made against me here.":}: In a subsequent 
letter he returned to the same subject, and said : '' It has bc- 

* Shea's Hist, of the Church in the United States, pp. 22 et seq. 
f In a small chapel on Walnut Street. — Note of the Editor of the Memoirs. 
X Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, vol. x., being the Penn 
and Logan Correspondence, vol. ii., p. 294. 



20 THE CHURCH IN EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 

come a reproach to me here, with the officers of the crown, 
that you have suffered the scandal of the Mass to be pubhcly 
celebrated."^ 

Nothing further is known of the condition of the Catholics 
there until 1730, when Rev. Josiah Greaton, S.J., was sent 
thither from Maryland. He at first celebrated Mass in the 
chapel already mentioned ; but in 1733 he bought a lot on 
Fourth Street and built a chapel. The authorities took 
umbrage at the erection of a Roman Mass-house contrary to 
the statutes of William III., and opposed its being so used in 
so public a place.f It is not, however, known to what extent 
the opposition was carried. Father Greaton labored for 
twenty years in Philadelphia, and is justly regarded as the 
Apostle of that city. 

The celebrated German mission of Goshenhoppen, Berks 
County, forty-five miles north-west of Philadelphia, is more 
interesting to us as being one of the points from which 
Catholic emigration set in tov/ards the western part of the 
State.:]: It is said to have been founded in 1741 by Rev. 
Theodore Schneider, S.J., who built a church four years 

* Watson's Annals of Philadelphia. 

f Colonial Record, vol. iii. pp. 546, 563. 

X The importance which this settlement played in the history of Catholicity in 
western Pennsylvania will add to the interest of the following curious document, 
signed by five justices of the peace of Berks County, and presented to the 
Governor of Pennsylvania during the French war, soon after Braddock's defeat ; 

"As all the Protestant inhabitants of Berks County are uneasy at the 
behavior of the Roman Catholics, who are very numerous in this county, some of 
whom show great joy at the bad news lately come from the army, we have thought 
it our duty to inform your Honor of our dangerous situation, and to beg your 
Honor to enable us by some legal authority to disarm or otherwise disable the 
Papists from doing any injury to the other people who are not of their vile 
principles. We know that the people in the Roman Catholic Church are bound 
by their principles to be the worst of neighbors, and we have reason to fear just at 
this time that the Roman Catholics of Cussahoppen, where they have a magnifi- 
cent chapel and lately have had large processions, have bad designs ; for in the 
neighborhood of that chapel it is reported and generally believed that thirty 
Indians are lurking with guns and swords and cutlashes. The priests at Reading 
as well as at Cussahoppen last Sunday gave notice to their people that they could 
not come to them again in less than nine weeks, whereas they constantly preach 
once in four weeks to their congregations ; whereupon some imagine that they've 
gone to consult with our enemies at Fort Duquesne. It is a great unhappiness at 
this time to the people of this province that the Papists should keep arms in their 



CONEWAGO AND LANCASTER. 21 

later, and remained in the settlement for twenty years. This 
was from an early day a very flourishing mission. In the 
same year, 1741, Rev. William Wapeler, S.J., the companion 
of Father Schneider, founded the mission at Conewago, in 
York, now Adams County.* It soon rivalled Goshenhoppen, 
and became, hke it, the parent of new western missions. Both 
were at first composed principally of Germans, but an Irish 
element was soon introduced into them. The same Father 
Wapeler is said to have purchased ground at Lancaster, in 
1 741, on which to erect a church ; but it was left to his suc- 
cessor. Rev. Ferdinand Farmer, whose original name was 
Steinmeyer, and who came in 1758 or 1759, to carry his 
designs into execution. 

But the sons of Erin, whose record is so illustrious in every 
part of the world, were not slow in finding their way into 
the wilds of Pennsylvania, to plant the faith which they had 
nurtured amid so many difficulties at home. In 1725 nearly 
6000 of these exiles — some of whom doubtless were Catholics 
— landed at Philadelphia to join those of their countrymen 
who had preceded them. 

These were the first and principal settlements in the eastern 
part of the State of which Catholic historians make mention. 

Although umbrage was taken, as we have seen, at the few 
Catholics who had settled in the colony of Pennsylvania for 
opening chapels, or " Mass-houses" as they were called, it 
appears certain that no active measures were taken to curtail 
their liberties prior to the commencement of hostilities be- 
tween the English and French in America. But during the 
period of this war, that is from 1753 to 1763, the Catholics 
were regarded with suspicion owing to an opinion, as opposed 
to right reason as it is to the teaching of history, that they 
must necessarily be disloyal subjects. And because the 

houses, against which the Protestants are not prepared ; who, therefore, are sub- 
ject to a massacre whenever the Papists are ready. We pray your Honor would 
direct us in this important business. 

" Heidelburg, July 23, 1755." 

On examining into the matter, the Provincial Council replied, August 9th : 
" We apprehend there is very little foundation for that representation." — Colonial 
Records, vol. vi. pp. 503, 533. 

* Caughnawaga is an Indian word signifying " the rapids." 



2 2 CATHOLICS SUSPECTED OF DISLOYALTY. 

French were looked upon as a Catholic people, and the Eng- 
hsh were conscious of their persecution of their Catholic 
subjects at home, the latter were regarded as persons ready 
to sell their country to her enemies. 

Frequent reference to the Catholics, or Papists as they 
were called even in public documents, may be found at this 
time by any one who will be at the trouble of consulting the 
*' Pennsylvania Archives" (Old Series) and the " Colonial 
Records." 

Thus Dan. Clause, in a letter to Governor Morris of Penn- 
sylvania, under date of October, 1754, warns him against a 
certain man who is a dangerous character because the writer 
is certain of his being a Roman Catholic, for he was seen 
making his confession to a priest in Canada.^ Governor 
Morris of Pennsylvania, writing to Governor Dinwiddle of 
Virginia, August 19th, 1755, complains of the defenceless 
state of the countr}^ against the inroads of the French, " who," 
he saj^s, *' might march in and be strengthened by the German 
and Irish Catholics, who are numerous here" (in Philadelphia). f 
The latter governor replies, September 20th, 1755:"! have 
not omitted writing to the ministry the unaccountable conduct 
of your Assembly, the dangers we are in from the German 
Roman Catholics, and I have no doubt the next session the}- 
will seriously consider of it, and make some alteration in your 
constitution." % They did consider it, and made alterations as 
we shall see. In a letter from Governor Morris to Governor 
Hardy of New York, of July 5th, 1756, the former writes : 
'■' The Roman Catholics in this and the neighboring provinces 
of iMar3'land are allowed the free exercise of their religion." 
Governor Hardy, in his reply of the 9th of the same month, 
commenting on the French war, thinks that certain facts 
regarding the colonists had transpired " through the trea- 
sonable correspondence of the Roman Catholics with the 
French," and adds : '' I hr.ve heard you have an ingenious 
Jesuit in Philadelphia."! 

The suspicion of Catholic loyalty which the foregoing 
extracts evince found its full expression in " An Act for 

* Pa. Archives (Old Series), vol. ii. p. 176. 

\ Ibid., p. 590. \ Ibid., p. 423. 

§ Ibid., p. 694. 



PERSECUTION OF THE CATHOLICS. 23 

Reg-ulating the Militia," passed by the Provincial Assembly, 
March 29th, 1757, from which the following extracts refer- 
ring to the Papists are taken. The act provides that the local 
authorities shall immediately take a list of all persons in their 
several districts fit for military duty except '' rehgious socie- 
ties or congregations whose tenets and principles are against 
bearing arms, and all Papists or reputed Papists." These 
were to be designated by marks opposite their names in the 
roll-book. Again, it is '' provided always that no Papist or 
reputed Papist shall be allowed or admitted to give his vote 
or be chosen an officer of the militia within any of the dis- 
tricts within these provinces." 

" And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid that all 
arms, military accoutrements, gunpowder and ammunition, 
of what kind soever, any Papist or reputed Papist within 
this province hath or shall have in his house or houses, or 
elsewhere, one month after the publication of this act, shall 
be taken from such Papist or reputed Papist by warrant, etc., 
. . . and if any such Papist or reputed Papist shall attempt 
to conceal such arms, etc., . . . every such person so 
offending shall be imprisoned by a warrant from said justices 
for the space of three months without bail or main-prize. 

" And v^^hereas all Papists and reputed Papists are hereby 
exempted from attending and performing the military duties 
enjoined by this act, . . . and nevertheless will partake 
of and enjoy the benefit . . . thereof, ... Be it, 
therefore, enacted . . . that every male Papist or re- 
puted Papist between the age of seventeen and fifty-five years 
. . . pay the sum of twenty shillings." * 

Other instances might be given from the same source and 
of the same tenor ; but these are deemed sufficient. It may 
be added, however, that this feeling of hostility to the Catho- 
lics remained for some years after the close of the war with 
the French and the extinction of her claims to all land east 
of the Mississippi. For example, in the beginning of 1769 
the colonial government refused to pass '' An Act to enable 
John Cottringer and Joseph Cauffman to hold lands in this 

* Pa. Archives (Old Series), vol, ii. p. 120 et seq. 



24 



POPULATION OF THE CA THOLIC MISSIONS. 



province," because the rulers *' have considered that the per- 
sons mentioned in the bill are Roman Catholics."'" 

As the result of the act regarding the militia and the 
census taken of the Catholics, we have the following inter- 
esting figures relative to the Catholic population : 

"A List of All the Roman Catholics in Pennsylvania, 1757 — 

That is, of all such as receive the sacraments, beginning from twelve years of age or 

thereabouts. 

Men. Women. 
Under the care of Robert Harding : 

In and about Philadelphia, being all Irish (or English). ... 72 78 

In Chester County 18 22 

Under the care of Theodore Schneider : 

In and about Philadelphia, being all Germans. 107 121 

Philadelphia County, but up country 15 10 

Berks County 62 55 

Northampton County 68 62 

" " Irish 17 12 

Bucks County 14 11 

Chester " 13 9 

" " Irish 9 6 

Under the care of Father Farmer : 

In Lancaster County, Germans loS 94 

" " Irish 22 27 

Berks County, Germans 41 39 

Irish 5 3 

Chester " " 23 17 

" " Germans 3 

Cumberland County, Irish 6 6 

Under the care of Matthias Manners : 

In York County, Germans 54 62 

" " " Irish 35 38 

692 673 
Total sum 1365 

April 29, 1757." 

Let us now turn to the west. Apart from the gradual 
encroachment of the pioneers on the domain of the red man, 
which must, in process of time, have subjected it to the ad- 
vancing civilization, circumstances were not wanting to give 
an additional impetus to settlement. In 1748 the Ohio Com- 
pany obtained a charter granting it 500,000 acres of land on 

* Colonial Records, vol. ix. p. 596. 



SETTLEMENT OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 25 

the southern bank of the Ohio River between the Monon- 
gahela and the Great Kanawha, with the additional privilege 
of occupying lands north of the first-named stream. This 
territory embraced a large portion of South-western Pennsyl- 
vania. Preparations were being made for taking immediate 
possession of it, when public attention was forcibly drawn to 
the west by the threatened encroachments of the French 
from the vicinity of Lake Erie. This subject will be treated 
at length in the history of Pittsburg. From that time for- 
ward ''the Forks," as the site of the present city of Pittsburg 
was then designated, became familiarly known throughout 
the colonies. A dispute also arose between Virginia and 
Pennsylvania regarding the boundary line between the two 
colonies, which drew still further attention to the west. It 
was at length settled by arbitration, August 31st, 1779. 
Pioneers continued to encroach on the Indians, till at the time 
of the excise troubles which ended in the '' Whiskey Insurrec- 
tion," in 1794, that portion of the State embraced within this 
history, was generally, though sparsely, occupied by settlers. 
Before entering upon the history of the various congrega- 
tions in the two dioceses, it is proper to pause first and give 
the reader an idea of the manner in which Catholicity was 
introduced into the western part of the State. The sources 
of information are few and meagre, but sufficient, it is be- 
lieved, to establish what follows."^ 

* Christian Frederick Post, a Moravian missionary, who had considerable 
influence with the Indians, and who was on several occasions employed by the 
English to use his influence with the former in their behalf, thus writes in his 
journal under date of September ist, 1758, giving an account of an interview he 
had with the Indians at Logstown, twenty-two miles below Pittsburg, on the 
north bank of the Ohio River, and a speech that he had made to them, says : 
" My brothers, I know you have been wrongly persuaded by many wicked people; 
for you must know there are a great many Papists in the country in French inter- 
est, who appear like gentlemen and have sent many runaway Irish Papist ser- 
vants among you, who have put bad notions into your heads and strengthened 
you against your brothers, the English." (" The Olden Time," vol. i. p. 116.) To 
this the editor adds the following explanatory note : " The Indian traders used to 
buy the transported Irish to be employed in carrying up goods among the 
Indians. Many of these ran away from their masters and joined the Indians." 

On the fifth of the same month, in another speech, Mr. Post tells the Indians : 
"Those wicked people who set you at variance with the EngHsh by telling you 
many wicked stories are Papists in French pay ; besides, there are many among 



26 CATHOLICS IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 

The pioneers of Catholicity appear to have penetrated the 
western wilds by four different routes. The first of these led 
from Goshenhoppen, already mentioned, through Huntingdon 
County to HoUidaysburg, where it crossed the main ridge of the 
Allegheny Mountains, and continued to the spot occupied by 
St. Vincent's iVbbey, Unity Township, Westmoreland Count}^ 
Here, in the fall of 1787, was laid the foundation of the first 
permanent Catholic settlement in Western Pennsylvania. It 
became, in the process of time, the parent of numerous other 
congregations : and was long a resting-place for colonists go- 
ing further west. Many immigrants, leaving the direct route, 
settled to the north of it in the vicinity of Bellefonte and Hunt- 
ingdon ; others found homes to the south, in the vicinity of 
Newry ; while a few settled on the route or near it, about 
Sinking Valley, Frankstown, etc. The Unity Township colony 
Vv^as much larger than an}- of the settlements along the route, 
and in Nov., 1799, when Rev. Peter Heilbron (or Helbron) 
came to take charge of it, numbered seventy-five communi- 
cants."^ About two years previous to that time Rev. Father 
Lanigan, who had but lately arrived in the colony and who 
was dissatisfied with the state of affairs arising out of the con- 
duct of the unhappy Father Fromm, led a bod}^ of the people 
of the same mind as himself to West Alexander, Washington 
County, to establish a branch colony at that place. But not 
finding the land which they had purchased suitable for agri- 
cultural purposes, they soon disposed of it, and proceeded 
south-east to Waynesburg, Greene County, where they made a 
permanent settlement. 

The second route led from Conewago, and, entering Hunt- 
ingdon County in the south-east at Shade Gap, united with the 
other route at a point east of HoUidaysburg. Many families, 
some German, some Irish, came by this route to Unity Town- 
ship, V/estmoreland County, and to Loretto, Cambria County. 

us in the French ser\ace who appear like gentlemen, and buy Irish Papist ser- 
vants and promise them great rewards to run away to you and strengthen you 
against the English, by making them appear as black as devils." — Ihid., p. 120. 

From this it would appear that at least a small number of Catholics were 
scattered through the western part of the State at that time. 

* Rev J . A. Stillinger's MS. 



THE FIRST CATHOLIC SETTLEMENTS. 27 

The third route led from Maryland by way of Bedford 
along the foot of the eastern slope of the Allegheny Mountains 
to the point at which the first route crossed. By it came the 
colonies of Bedford and later of Harman Bottom, but princi- 
pally that of Loretto, from which the greater part of the con- 
gregations of Cambria County were formed. 

The fourth route was that opened by Gen. Braddock in 
his unfortunate expedition against Fort Duquesne, in 1755, 
which crossed the mountains from Cumberland by way of 
Uniontown and the Yohioghenny River to Pittsburg. This is 
known in history as Nemacolin s Path, so called from a Delaware 
Indian of that name.* By this route came the important Irish 
colony that settled at Donegal Township, Butler County, in 
1795. But leaving the route near Stewart's Crossing (now 
Connellsville), they bore north past the Westmoreland County 
settlement, and from thence to the Allegheny River, which they 
crossed at Freeport ; and proceeded from that point directly 
to the term of their journey. Nearly all the congregations of 
Armstrong and Butler counties were originally formed by 
members of this colony or their descendants. At the beginning 
of this century it was the largest settlement in the western 
part of the State. Brownsville and the upper Monongahela^ 
valley were peopled by the same route. Towards the close 
of the last century a small number of German families settled 
at Jacob's Creek, a tributary of the Yohioghenny River, about 
thirty miles south-east of Pittsburg ; but the colony never at- 
tained any importance. The number of Catholics- who had 
settled in Pittsburg before the beginning of the present cen- 
tury was so insignificant, it would appear, as not to have at- 
tracted the attention of the few missionaries. 

As regards the nationality of the early Catholic settlers, 
they were almost exclusively German and Irish. The former 
predominated at Unity Township; at the settlements east of 
the mountains the two nationalities were represented from the 
beginning, but the Irish soon predominated ; Avhile the Done- 
gal and Brownsville settlements were exclusively Irish. 

History does not inform us that the French missionaries to 

* The Monongahela of Old, P..25, 



28 CHARACTER OF THE SETTLEMENTS. 

the far west established any post at Presqu' Isle (Erie), or at 
any other place in the north-western part of the State, Nor do 
the missionaries appear to have done so who accompanied the 
French forces in their expeditions in the middle of the last 
century. Their labors appear to have been confined to the 
soldiers and the Indians within the fortifications. As to white 
settlers, there were none at that early day. From a manu- 
script of Bishop O'Connor, now before me, it would appear 
that a small body of Irish emigrants settled on Oil Creek about 
the close of the century. But the south-western part of the 
State was settled earlier than the north-western. It is super- 
fluous to remark that the early colonists did not proceed in a 
compact body to the term of their journey ; many, in fact, did 
not know where that would be, but that some preferred to 
settle at different points along the way. It may be further re- 
marked that the first settlers being solely intent upon agricul- 
ture, took possession of such land only as was considered fer- 
tile. But as time went on and the mineral resources of the 
country, which constitute its principal source of wealth, were 
developed, and canals and railroads were opened — which, from 
necessity or the requirements of mining and manufacture, 
usually follow streams or penetrate mountain regions — the 
subsequent accessions to the population were principally 
drawn to these localities, leaving the first settlements without 
any considerable additions to their numbers. For this reason 
it is that Brownsville, Uniontown, Waynesburg, Jacob's Creek, 
Bedford, Sinking Valley, and Shade Gap were as important 
numerically sixty years ago as they are at present. Almost 
the same may be said of Huntingdon ; while Slippery Rock 
is entirely forgotten. 



CHAPTER II. 

PITTSBURG. 

Early history of Pittsburg — French and English claims— Indians— Major Washing- 
ton's mission to the French — English occupation — Fort Duquesne, and its 
capture by the English — Baptismal Register of Fort Duquesne* — Fort Pitt 
— A town laid out — The Whiskey Insurrection — First Catholic settlers — Rev. 
B. J. Flagget— Rev. F. X. O'Brien— First Catholic Church, St. Patrick's— 
Very Rev. F. De Andreis— Rev. Ch. B. M'Guire— St. Patrick's Church 
enlarged — St. Paul's Church begun — The Nuns of St. Clare — Visit of Bishops 
Kenrick and Conwell — Death of Father M'Guire — Biographical notice. 

Having given the reader an idea, necessarily brief arid 
imperfect, of the manner in which Catholicity was first intro- 
duced into the western part of the State, we shall now take up 
the history of the several congregations. 

Pittsburg, although not the first place to receive the saving 
truths of Christianity, will yet be the first to claim our atten- 
tion, from the fact that it has become the centre of Catholic 
rule and unity. And first of its civil, as a foundation for its 
rehgious, history. 

The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ratified October, 1748, by 
which a long-continued struggle between France on the one 
side and England and other European Powers on the other 
was apparently terminated, and the two leading nations left in 
the same condition, as regards their possessions, as before the 
war, was not without its effect on the relations of their respec- 
tive American colonies. The Governor of Canada claimed, in 
the name of his royal master, extensive territory, including 
within its limits the western half of Pennsylvania, and prepared, 
with the aid of the forces at his command and the Indians who 
were ready to fight under the French standard, to take posses- 
sion by the force of arms. The English colonial authorities 
prepared to oppose him in the same manner. 



30 THE ABORIGINES. 

"At that time the country adjacent to the forks of the 
Ohio was occupied by various tribes, or nations. The Shawa- 
nese, who may scarcely be said to have had a permanent abid- 
ing-place, were settled along the Ohio and Allegheny rivers. 
The Delawares were intermingled with Shawanese, having 
removed westward from their former homes on the Delaware 
and Susquehanna rivers. Their king, Shingiss^ was found by 
Washington in 1753, located at the mouth of Chartier's Creek, 
about two miles below the Forks, and their queen, Aliquippa, 
at the mouth of the Youghiogheny. The Delawares also had 
a town, called Shanopins Town, on the left bank of the Alle- 
gheny, two miles above the Forks. The Senecas of the Six 
Nations were also dwelling on both the Allegheny and Ohio ; 
and these distinct nations appear to have been living peaceably 
together, at the same time preserving their manners, customs, 
and dress." ^ 

After referring to the warlike preparations of the represen- 
tatives of the two powers, the historian continues : "The year 
1753 begins the interesting history of the region around the 
present city of Pittsburg. The eyes of two of the most 
powerful European nations were upon it, each determined to 
occupy and hold the grand strategical point at the conflu- 
ence ot the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, or rather at 
the mouth of the latter stream, for the Allegheny was then 
called the Ohio by man}- .f 

" Here among the rugged hills of Western Pennsylvania, 
on the head-waters of the Ohio, began the conflict apparently 

* Histon- of Allegheny County, p. 18. 

fin the "Baptismal Register of Fort Duquesne," to which reference will 
hereafter be made, the Ohio is called "Oio;" in Charlevoix's "Histor}' of New 
France" it is named " L'Oyo, au la Belle Riviere;" and in Kip's " Early Jesuit 
Missions" (Father Marest's journal) it is termed the " Ouabache" River. May 
not the good father have confounded this river with the Wabash ? The name 
Ohio appears to be from the Seneca word Uo-he-yit, meaning clear zvater. — 
Olden Time, vol. i. p. 426. 

The term Allegheny is derived from Yallagaive, or Allegewi, the name of 
a powerful tribe, which, as tradition has it, inhabited this and other parts of the 
country prior to the advent of the tribes found by the first white men. — History 
of Allegheny County, p. 1 1. 

The name Monongahela is also of Indian origin, and signifies " Falling in 
Banks." — Craig's History of Pittsburg, ■^. icf>. 



WASHINGTON'S EXPEDITION TO THE FRENCH. 31 

for the control of the site where now stands one of the great 
manufacturing centres of the globe, but which eventually 
enveloped America, Europe, and Asia in the sulphur-clouds 
of war, precipitated the American Revolution, and, finally, 
broke up the ancient feudalism of Europe. The grandest 
character in this great drama, as the curtain arose upon the 
opening scene, was far in the background of the glittering 
throng of crowned and jewelled monarchs, and princes, and 
famous commanders who crowded to the front: a plain, 
unpretending lieutenant-colonel of colonial militia — George 
Washington." * 

Robert Dinwiddle, Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, was 
the first to take active measures for asserting the claims of 
the British crown. On the 31st of October, 1753, he appointed 
Major Washington the bearer of his despatches to the com- 
mander of the French forces in the north-western part of 
Pennsylvania. He set out immediately, and arrived at the 
Forks November 24th.f At that time no white man as yet 
occupied the spot. In his journal of the expedition he thus 
describes it : '' The land in the Fork I think extremely well 
situated for a fort, as it has the absolute command of the two 
rivers. The land at the point is twenty-five feet above the 
common surface of the water, and has a considerable bottom 
of flat, well-timbered land all around it, very convenient for 
building." He arrived at the end of his journey, a fort on 
French Creek, some distance from its mouth, December 4th, 
delivered his letters, and took accurate notes of all he could 
see of the French armament. They were determined to take 
possession of the Ohio early in the spring, an undertaking 
which their armament seemed able to accompHsh without 
much difficulty. With this intelHgence Washington returned 
with all speed to the governor. The latter despatched Captain 
WilHam Trent with about seventy-five men, January 4th, 1754, 
with orders to construct a fort at the Forks and prepare to 
defend it. Captain Trent did not, however, arrive until the 
17th of February, when he reached the Forks in company with 

* History of Allegheny County, p. 19. 

f The Indian name for the site of Pittsburg is said to have been De-un-daga, 
which simply means " The Forks." 



32 FORT DUQUESNE. 

the celebrated pioneer, Christopher Gist, who lived not far 
from where Connellsville now stands. It was a memorable 
day in our history, for then was commenced the first residence 
of a white man in what was destined to be the greatest iron- 
manufacturing city of the world. 

But while Ensign Ward, who had command of the place 
during a temporary absence of Captain Trent, was engaged 
on his little fortifications, the French and Indians suddenly 
appeared, April i6th, to the number of one thousand, with eigh- 
teen cannon, in sixty bateaux and three hundred canoes, under 
the command of Captain Contrecoeur. Their landing was fol- 
lowed by a summons to Ward to surrender immediately. 
Nothing was left but to comply with it ; and the next day he 
was permitted to retire with his men to Redstone, the site of 
the present Brownsville. The French then built a fort, to 
which they at first gave the name of the Assumption of the 
Blessed Virgin, but afterwards changed it to that of Fort Du- 
quesne, in honor of the Marquis Duquesne, the Governor of 
Canada. This little fort stood in the Point, while that of 
Trent stood on the bank of the Monongahela, a very short dis- 
tance from the Point. " It at once became the centre of all 
the military operations of the French in this country, and its 
commanding position rendered its restoration to the Enghsh 
a matter of the first importance. In 1755 General Braddock, 
at the head of the largest expedition that had ever crossed the 
Alleghenies, was sent to recapture it. On July 9th he was met 
and defeated by the French and Indians at a point on the 
Monongahela ten miles above the fort (since known as Brad- 
dock's Field). A force of 800 men under Major Grant was 
cut to pieces in a second attempt in 1758 ; but a third of 6000 
men under General Forbes was successful, November 15th, 
1758, the French, disheartened by the failure of several attacks 
on the advancing army, having abandoned and set fire to it 
on the previous day." 

During their occupation of the fort the French were at- 
tended, as they were in all their expeditions, by a Catholic 
chaplain, and the chapel in which he offered up the holy sacri- 
fice — the first religious service in the city of Pittsburg — was 



PITTSBURG DEDICATED TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN, 



33 



dedicated under the title of " The Assumption of the Blessed 
Virgin of the Beautiful River." 

The French, it may be stated by way of explanation, desig- 
nated the Ohio and Allegheny rivers by the common term 
Ohio, or rather Oio ; but on account of its limpid waters and 
enchanting scenery it was more generally known as ''the 
Beautiful River." This occupation by the French, though 
transitory, forms an interesting episode in the city's history. 
But for the Catholic it possesses a special interest. It shows 
how the August Queen of Heaven claimed what was after- 
wards to be the diocese of Pittsburg as she had claimed from 
the beginning the entire New World. Commenting on the 
title and dedication of this chapel, Bishop O'Connor says : " It 
is presumed it was dedicated under this title on the Feast of 
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin after their (the French 
soldiers') first arrival, as it is only after that day that it is 
designated by that name in the Register. It would appear 
that this dedication was accepted by the Blessed Virgin, as at 
the first Synod of the new Diocese of Pittsburg the new Dio- 
cese was placed under the protection of the Holy Virgin 
under the title of the Assumption, though no one was aware 
at that time of the previous dedication under the same title, 
the Bishop having been led to make this selection of a patron 
in consequence of the bull of erection being dated a few days 
before that feast, and he himself having been consecrated as 
its first Bishop on that festival.* 

Reference will again be made to this title and dedication 
under the head of the Church of St. Mary of Mercy. 

I have before me a copy of the register of the baptisms 
and deaths as kept by the army chaplain, which, although 
professing to be of Fort Duquesne only, contains entries from 
the other posts, at Presqu' Isle (Erie City) and those on '' La 
Riviere aux Beufs" (French Creek), a stream that flows into 
the Allegheny River from the west at Frankhn, 124 miles, 
above Pittsburg. The history of this volume is interesting, 
and will not be out of place here. Bishop O'Connor, who 
took a lively interest in all that related to the early days of the 
Church in his diocese, found that the register, such as we now 

* Diocesan Register. 



34 THE BAPTISMAL REGISTER OF FT. DUQUESNE. 

have it, was kept in the archives of the city of Montreal. He 
had an authenticated copy made from it, from which he caused 
a small number of copies to be printed in the original French, 
intheyear 1859. Itisanoctavo volume of 52 pages, entitled "Re- 
gistres des Baptemes et Sepultures qui se sont faits au Fort 
Duquesne pendant les annees 1753, 1754, 1755 et 1756." The 
register is divided into three parts, each duly authenticated 
by Contrecceur, and containing fifteen baptisms, of which two 
only are French, eight English, two Irish, and three Indians, 
one being that of Jean Baptiste Christiguay, '< great chief of 
the Iroquois," who was then in the ninety-fifth year of his age. 
The number of interments is forty-two, all of which are 
French except two English and four Indians. The first entry 
is dated July nth, 1753, and the last October loth, 1756. 

Whether the chaplain withdrew at that time, or, which is 
more probable, the register for the remaining two years was 
destroyed with the fort, or lost, cannot now be determined. 
The first entry from Fort Duquesne — there are a few at the 
beginning from other posts — is an interment, dated June 5th, 
1754, in which there is no other title than that of '' Fort Du- 
quesne of the Beautiful River." So the other entries until 
August 6th, when the designation is changed to that of 
^* Fort Duquesne under the title of the Assumption of the 
Blessed Virgin." But from September 12th of the same 
year the entries to the end of the register are made 
" at Fort Duquesne under the title of the Assumption of the 
Blessed Virgin of the Beautiful River." All entries are 
signed Fr. Denis Baron, P.R., Chaplain, except three at the 
beginning of the register, two of which bear the name of 
Gabriel Anheuser, Royal Chaplain, and the other his name in 
conjunction with that of Fr. Baron. The whole is preceded 
by an introduction, of which the following is the most interest- 
ing part : '' As a parish register the following pages would 
not deserve to be printed ; but they are of great importance 
by reason of the Hght they shed on the bold attempts made by 
the French in seizing the peninsula which commands the 
Ohio, after having driven out the colonists of Virginia ; and 
these pages become the more interesting from the curious 
details they furnish of the battle of the Monongahela and its 



FORT PITT— PITTSBURG. 



35 



hero, Daniel Leonard Sieur de Beaujeux."^ Before marching 
against Braddock he prostrated himself before the altar and 
prepared himself for death. He evidently did not think that 
he would return as the conqueror of an army so numerous 
and important as that of the English ; yet he considered it his 
duty as a French nobleman to face death in so unequal a 
struggle. His courage and self-sacrifice inspired his soldiers 
with hopes greater than his own ; and though a simple captain 
of infantry, he died in the midst of the conflict, after having 
gained one of the most glorious victories in the French annals — 
a victory so complete that English and American historians 
mention it by no other name than Braddock's Defeat.f 

Gen. Stanwix succeeded Gen. Forbes immediately after 
the evacuation of the fort by the French in 1758, and built 
a large fortification at the point, which he named Fort Pitt, 
in honor of the British prime minister. From this the city 
takes its name. The first plan of a town was laid out by 
Col. John Campbell in 1764, which embraced only the four 
squares of the present city bounded by Water, Market, and 
Ferry streets and Second Avenue. • 

A warrant was issued January 5 th, 1769, for the survey of 
" the manor of Pittsburg," :j: which then embraced 5766 acres. 
In his third visit to the spot in 1770, Washington thus de- 

* In the register of his interment he is called Leonard Daniel. 

f I have carefully examined "The Olden Time" and "Craig's History of Pitts- 
burg" for references to Catholicity, but all they contain beyond the remarks of Mr. 
Post, already quoted, is the following precious item, which, from what is known of 
the French, as well as from the matter-of-course manner in which it is given, goes 
to show that the army chaplain not only ministered to those who remained at the 
forts, but also followed the different expeditions and scouting parties. In the journal 
kept by M. de Villiers of an expedition which he led against the English, who were 
posted near the Great Meadows, now in Fayette County, we read ; " The 28th 
(June, 1754) I posted myself at a short distance above the first forks of the 
Monongahela ;" that is, a short distance above M'Keesport, on the Youghiogheny 
River. " The 29th. Mass was said in the camp, after which we marched," etc. — 
Olden Time, vol if. pp. 210, 211. 

That no further reference should be found is accounted for by the fact that it 
was not until March, 1859, that Bishop O'Connor brought the Baptismal Register 
of*Fort Duquesne to light. 

X The first use of the name Pittsburg, so far as is known with certainty at 
present, was in a communication dated " Fort at Pittsburg, March 21st, 1760." — 
Craig's History of Pittsburg, p. 87. 



36 PITTSBURG A CITY. 

scribes the incipient town : " The houses, which are ranged in 
streets, are on the Monongahela, and I suppose may be about 
twenty in number and inhabited by Indian traders." The 
town was laid out on a larger scale in June, 1784, by Thomas 
Vickroy, of Bedford County. Arthur Lee, who visited it in 
December of the same year, gives a sorry picture particularly 
of its religious condition. He says, ** There is a great deal of 
small trade carried on, the commodities of exchange being 
money, wheat, flour, and skins." There were then in the town 
four attorneys, two physicians, " but not a priest of any per- 
suasion, nor church, nor chapel ; so that they are likely to be 
damned without the benefit of the clergy. The place 1 believe 
will never be very considerable." * 

Two years later a Calvinist minister settled in the town, 
for the inhabitants were principally Scotch and Irish Presby- 
terians ; and a church was soon after built for him on the site 
of the present First Presbyterian Church, Wood Street. It 
was the first church erected in Pittsburg. 

During the excise troubles Pittsburg was the scene of 
much violence, a circumstance by which it became still better 
known abroad. On the re-establishment of order settlers 
were drawn in numbers, and the population increased. It 
was incorporated as a borough, April 22d, 1794; and char- 
tered as a city, March i8th, 18 16, having then a population of 
about 6000. Anterior to the latter date the manufacture of 
glass, iron, and nails had been commenced, which was des- 
tined to play so important a part in promoting the wealth and 
prosperity of the city. We shall now turn to the religious 
history of Pittsburg. 

It would appear that a very small number of Catholics, of 
whom a part at least were French, had settled in Pittsburg 
prior to the year 1792. Probably the first priest who ap- 
peared in the town was Rev. Father Whalen, who was sent 
by very Rev. John Carroll to the Catholics of Kentucky in 
I787.t The usual mode of travel to the West in those early 
days was either to come overland to Pittsburg, and there em- 
bark on the Ohio in a flat-boat, or to Brownsville, on the Mo- 

* The italics are in the original. 

f Sketches of Kentucky, by Rev. M. J. Spalding, D.D., p. 42. 



REV, B. J. FLAGET AT PITTSBURG. 37 

nongahela, and embark in the same manner. The former was 
the more ordinary way ; and if Father Whalen adopted it, as 
he most probably did, he was the first priest to set foot in 
Pittsburg, and the first to offer up the holy Sacrifice m West- 
ern Pennsylvania after the French occupation. In 1792 Rev. 
B. J. Flaget, afterwards Bishop of Bardstown, Ky., also 
passed through, and as he was delayed in the town for several 
months an account of his sojourn will be interesting, and the 
more so as our means of obtaining information respecting 
those early days is very limited. Says his biographer: ''He 
set out on his journey (from Baltimore to Vincennes) in the 
month of May, in a wagon destined to Pittsburg. He tra- 
velled alone with the conductor of the wagon. ... In 
Pittsburg he was detained for nearly six months, in conse- 
quence of the low stage of the water in the Ohio. He car- 
ried with him letters of introduction from Bishop Carroll to 
Gen. Wayne, who was stationed at that point preparing for 
his great expedition against the Indians of the North-west. 
. . . During his detention in Pittsburg, Monsieur Flaget 
was not idle. He boarded in the family of a French Hugue- 
not married to an American Protestant lady, by whom he was 
kindly and hospitably entertained. He said Mass every morn- 
ing in their house ; and during the day he devoted himself to 
the instruction of the few French inhabitants and French 
Catholic soldiers. 

" The small-pox having broken out in the place, he was 
indefatigable in his attentions to those stricken with the loath- 
some disease. Forgetful of his own imminent danger, he 
generously devoted himself for their bodily and spiritual 
comfort. His zeal brought with it a blessing, and his heart 
was much consoled by these first-fruits of his ministry in 
America. 

" An incident occurred while he was in Pittsburg which 
presented an occasion for the exercise of his charity and zeal. 
Gen. Wayne, though a humane man, was a rigid discipli- 
narian. Four soldiers had deserted, and on being appre- 
hended they were promptly condemned to death by a court 
martial. Two of them were Irish or American Cathohcs, 
one was a Protestant, and the fourth a French infidel. Mon- 



38 THE FIRST CATHOLICS IN PITTSBURG. 

sieur Flaget visited them in prison ; and though but Httle ac- 
quainted with EngHsh, he had the happiness to receive the 
Protestant into the Church, and to administer the sacraments 
to the two Cathohcs. They were in the most happy disposi- 
tions ; and he mingled his tears of joy with theirs of repent- 
ance. The Frenchman proved obdurate ; and the zealous 
priest could make no impression on his heart. 

"■' He accompanied the convicts to the place of execution ; 
but his tender heart would not permit him to hear the fatal 
shot by which they would be launched into eternity. So 
much was he moved that on his hasty departure from the 
spot he fell into a swoon ; and on recovering, he found him- 
self lying in a ravine by the wayside. Several hours had 
already elapsed since the execution, and the whole appeared 
to him like a dream. The Frenchman was pardoned by 
Gen. Wayne, the moment before the order to fire, out of 
regard for the feelings of M. Flaget, who had exhibited the 
most poignant grief that his unhappy countryman was so 
totally unprepared to die. In November he left Pittsburg in 
a flat-boat bound for Louisville." "^ 

In the autumn of the following year Rev. Stephen Badin 
and Rev. M. Barrieres also passed through Pittsburg, remain- 
ing for a short time, as may be gathered from the following : 
" The two missionaries left Baltimore on the 6th of Septem- 
ber, 1793, and travelled like the Apostles, on foot to Pittsburg, 
over bad roads and a rugged wilderness country. On the 3d 
of November they embarked on a flat-boat which was de- 
scending the Ohio." f 

A very small number of Catholics, emigrants from Ireland, 
for the most part, also settled in Pittsburg about the begin- 
ning of the century. But so few were they that when Rev. 
D. A. Gallitzin, the first priest residing in Pennsylvania who 
is known to have visited the place, made his appearance among 
them, in 1804, there are said to have been only fifteen souls to 
assist at his Mass. Rev. P. Heilbron and perhaps one or two 
other priests are thought to have visited the town at distant 

* Sketches of the Life, etc., of the Rt. Rev. B. J. Flaget, by Rev. M. J. 
Spalding, D D., pp. 31-33. 
t Ibid. p. 75. 



THE FIRST CHURCH IN PITTSBURG. 39 

intervals during the next two years. Rev. F. X. O'Brien was 
the first to come at regular intervals. Says Mr. Shea, on 
what authority I know not : '' In the first years of this cen- 
tury the Rev. F. X. O'Brien had the centre of his mission at 
Brownsville, forty miles south of Pittsburg, which latter city 
he visited once in the month, to say Mass for the few Catho- 
lics, who gathered around him in a private house." ^ 

I have not been able to find a confirmation of this state- 
ment, further than that Father O'Brien visited Pittsburg dur- 
ing a part of the years 1806 and '7. His name does not occur 
prior to the former year, and he left Brownsville in the latter, a 
considerable time before he took up his residence in Pittsburg. 
Be this as it may, for historical data are neither copious nor 
exact, he was appointed resident pastor of the little town in 
October, 1808. The Catholics at this time are said to have 
numbered only twenty souls ; but the future prospects were 
such as to encourage the zealous missionary to undertake the 
erection of a church. And here an important question arises. 
When was the first church erected in Pittsburg ? The date com- 
monly given is 1808. But this is evidently erroneous. Father 
O'Brien, as we have seen, did not arrive until the close of 
that year; and he would not then commence so important 
a work. It may have been, and probably was, begun the 
following spring. But, though small, it was a great under- 
taking for the little, indigent flock; and Father O'Brien 
was obliged to go elsewhere for assistance. He visited a 
number of the wealthy Catholic families of Baltimore and 
other parts of Maryland^ and was assisted by the Archbishop 
himself. The lot upon which the church stood was donat- 
ed by Col. Jas. O'Hara. This being the first property ac- 
quired by the Church in Pittsburg, possesses a special in- 
terest to the historian. It also aids in determining the date 
at which the church was built. From the records in the court- 
house which I have examined, I learn that James O'Hara and 
Mary, his wife, deeded to Philip Gilland and Anthony Beelen 
a lot of ground 60 by 64 feet, at the corner of Liberty and 
Washington Streets, in consideration of one dollar, " as of di- 
vers other considerations them thereunto more especially 

* The Catholic Church in the United States, p. 285. 



4,o BISHOP EG AN VISITS PITTSBURG. 

moving-. . . . . On which the Roman Catholic ehapel 
is erected. ... . In trust for the Roman Catholic 
congregation of Pittsburg and vicinity, to and for the only 
proper use and behoof of the said congregation and their pos- 
terity forever, and for no other use or purpose whatever." 
The deed is dated November 6th, 1811, and was recorded by 
Lazarus Stewart, Justice of the Peace, December 8th.* The 
property of which the church lot formed a part had been pur- 
chased from Prestly Neville, July 15th, 1799. From this it is 
evident that the first church of Pittsburg was built before the 
close of 181 1. But how long it had been in course of erec- 
tion cannot be determined; for the work upon it necessarily 
progressed but slowly, and it was not yet finished when 
Bishop Egan of Philadelphia visited the city, in the latter 
part of the summer of 181 1. This was the first visit of a 
Bishop to the western part of the State ; for although Bishop 
Carroll set out on a visit in 1802, he was deterred from cross- 
ing the mountains by the condition of the roads, or, it may 
be, by the absence of roads. Bishop Egan administered Con- 
firmation in a private house. There were then about fifteen 
families. 

At length the new church was completed, and was dedi- 
cated to St. Patrick, a sufficient evidence that here, as in count- 
less other places, the foundations of religion had been laid by 
emigrants from the Island of Saints. It was an unassuming" 
brick building, perhaps fifty feet in length by thirty in width ; 
and stood at the head of Eleventh Street, in front of the pres- 
ent Union Depot. To this day it is spoken of as ** Old St. 
Patrick's." 

The residence of a priest and the completion of a church, 
added to the erection of manufactories, which pointed out 
Pittsburg as a good place for laborers, stimulated the Catholic 
settlement. Numbers of German families came ; but the Irish 
element always predominated in the city, and still predomi- 
nates. Time wore on, and the good priest who had been 
thought too sanguine in erecting so large a church beheld it 
crowded with an ever-increasing congregation. But neither 
he nor any other of the pioneer priests confined his labors to 

* Deed Book, vol. xvii. pp. 368, 369. 



A PARISH EQUAL TO TEN DIOCESES. 41 

one congregation, or even to one county. Their mission fre- 
quently embraced a circuit of fifty, seventy-five, or even a 
hundred miles, which they traversed and ministered to as fre- 
quently as circumstances permitted. 

The following extracts from a letter of the Very Rev. Felix 
De Andreis, who, passing through Pittsburg in the autumn of 
1816, remained in it a short time with his eleven companions, 
members like himself of the Congregation of the Mission, 
will be read with interest, conveying as they do an idea of the 
means of travel afforded in those days, and the condition of 
religion in Pittsburg: 

" Having set out in two parties from Baltimore," he writes, 
under date of September i6th, to Mr. Sicardi, Vicar-General 
of the Congregation at Rome, ** we crossed, partly on foot and 
partly on wretched vehicles, the rugged mountains of Penn- 
sylvania ; some of us accomplished the journey in nineteen, 
others in ten days; but for all it was attended with great 
expense and inconvenience. The distance we had to go was 
about three hundred miles ; and, not meeting with any Catholic 
church on our way, we could neither celebrate nor hear Mass. 
The worst of it was, however, that even when we reached 
Pittsburg, a pretty considerable town, in a commercial point 
of view, there was no means of obtaining this consolation. 
Among a population of ten thousand the Catholics scarcely 
number three hundred. They are all generally very poor, so 
that the church is almost destitute of everything ; the pastor, 
who has under his care a parish nearly equal to ten dioceses, 
is constantly employed in visiting his parishioners ; he was 
absent when we arrived, and having taken with him the 
chaHce, our devotion, no less than that of the people, was dis- 
appointed, for all seemed most anxious to see us officiate. At 
last a pewter chalice was found, but there was no paten ; how- 
ever, yesterday, late in the evening, having gone with one of 
my companions to our lodging in the house of a worthy 
Catholic family, a paten was found most unexpectedly. I 
sent my companion to bear the good news to the others, and 
to the principal Catholics of the place, who soon spread the 
tidings from house to house ; so that this morning we cele- 



42 FATHER O'BRIEN- RETIRES. 

brated our five Masses, including one that was chanted. This 
afternoon we had Vespers." * 

Writing in his journal, he says : " We had to remain until 
the 23d of October at Pittsburg, the waters of the Ohio being 
too low to allow us to proceed on our way. On the above- 
named day we started in a sort of vessel called a flat-boat, 
made precisely like a small house, the roof of which served as 
a deck. It was a moving sight to see the banks crowded with 
persons who came to bid us farewell ; many of them gave us 
considerable sums of money, and exhibited lively marks of 
sorrow for our departure." f During their stay they were 
aided materially by Mr. Anthony Beelen, whose name figures 
prominently in the early history of the Church in Pittsburg. 
He was a Belgian, and his father had been the ambassador of 
Joseph II., Emperor of Germany. Upon the death of the 
emperor, in 1790, Baron De Beelen determined to remain in 
Philadelphia. His son Anthony came to Pittsburg about the 
beginning of this century, and, being possessed of wealth and 
education, he soon attained to an honorable position. He 
received Louis Philippe when passing through the city, also 
Lafayette on his visit in 1825 ; and he ably seconded whatever 
was undertaken in the interests of religion. But he at length 
became entangled in the meshes of Freemasonry and a mixed 
marriage, and died without having been reconciled to the 
Church. 

Father O'Brien, who was naturally of a delicate constitu- 
tion, soon found that his strength was not equal to his zeal. 
But so far from rest and repose being in store for him, his 
labors were destined to increase ; for at this time a number of 
State roads, or " pikes" as they were familiarly called, were 
laid out and to be opened ; and as they would be mainl}^ con- 
structed by Catholic Irishmen, a new field was opened for him. 
But nature, if not a motive of self-preservation, will impose a 
limit to zeal. Father O'Brien's strength was finally so far 
exhausted as no longer to permit him to continue his labors, 
and he retired to Maryland, his native State, early in 1820, 
where he remained until his death, with the exception of a 

* Sketches of the Life of the Very Rev. Felix De Andreis, pp. 95, 96. 
t Ibid p. 98. 



REV. CHARLES B. M'GUIRE. 43 

short time spent at Conewago. Little more is known of this 
good priest except that, worn out more by labor than by age, 
he died, most probably at Annapolis, on the Feast of All 
Saints, 1832. 

Father O'Brien was succeeded, March, 1820, by Rev. 
Charles B. M'Guire, O.S.F., who had been pastor of the 
church in the Westmoreland County settlement for some 
time, and who had visited Pittsburg at intervals during the 
previous year. '' Moved by the wants of the Catholics of 
Pittsburg, he was transferred, or transferred himself thither," 
as Father Heyden remarks in one of his letters, '^ for there 
was no great order in those days. . . . He made the 
Church at Pittsburg what it is." But his labors, like those of 
his predecessor, were not confined to the city. They extended 
to the scattered families in the country for many miles around. 
Soon after his arrival he purchased a small two-story brick 
house on Liberty Street, Nos. 340 and 342, in which he lived, 
and which is yet standing as a relic of the past. 

The little church at length became too small for the con- 
gregation, and Father M^Guire determinecj to enlarge it. 
Col. O'Hara had donated an addition to the original lot, 
about the same size as it, some time prior to 181 5 ; and about 
the year 1824 or 1825 Father M'Guire built an addition to^ 
the church in the form of a transept across the rear of the 
existing building. It was ready for occupation about the 
commencement of 1826, but w^ not finished in the interior 
until later, and was as simple in its style of architecture as the 
original building. The congregation had now sufficient 
accommodation ; but only for a short time. The cemetery 
was for many years attached to the church. Father M'Guire 
also purchased a farm on the hill south of the Monongahela, 
and a short distance east of the spot now occupied by the 
Passionist Monastery, but at what precise time is uncertain, 
upon which he contemplated the erection of a house of his 
order. But circumstances, and especially the death of Rev. 
Anthony Kenny, then his companion, prevented him from 
carrying out his plans. 

In the early part of the summer of 18 19 Bishop Flaget, of 
Bardstown, passed from Erie down, the Allegheny River to 



44 



ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. 



Pittsburg, where he remained two days and administered Con- 
firmation. 

Soon after the addition Avas made to St. Patrick's a fresh 
impulse was given to business in the city, and a more 
rapid increase to the population, in which the Catholics more 
than others were likely to be benefited. The Pennsylvania 
Canal, to traverse the entire length of the State from Phila- 
delphia to Pittsburg, was laid out, and work was commenced 
upon it in 1826. In view of the increase of the Catholic popu- 
lation which must necessarily accompany and follow the con- 
struction of the canal. Father M'Guire conceived the idea of 
erecting a new church, which should be the greatest work of 
his life. His mind, schooled in the pomp with which religion 
is surrounded in Catholic countries, was not disposed to 
satisfy itself with such a church as circumstances force upon 
a country in its infancy. He would raise an edifice such as 
few dioceses, if any, in the United States could then boast, one 
which he could contemplate with feelings of pride and leave 
at his death to an admiring future. 

A meeting of the Catholics of Pittsburg was called, August 
27th, 1827, at which he presided, to take the matter into consid- 
eration. A committee, or board of trustees, was selected, with 
himself as president, who should purchase a site, and hold it 
in trust for the congregation. They selected the lots on the 
north-west corner of Fifth Avenue and Grant Street, the site 
of the present magnificent cathedral, which was then in the 
outskirts of the city. This location, for its central position 
and elevation, could not be excelled. The lot had an elevation 
of about twenty feet above the present level of the street, the 
latter having been cut down on two different times, as we shall 
hereafter have occasion to remark. It was m_ost probably 
about this time that Father M'Guire received his first assistant, 
and Pittsburg became the residence of two priests. Work 
was soon after commenced on the foundation of the proposed 
church, the hill was graded off in view of a future grading of 
the street, and the corner-stone was laid without ceremon}- by 
Father M'Guire, June 24th, 1829. It appears that in the report 
of the proceedings by a local paper the church was styled a 
cathedral, whereupon the U. S. Catholic Miscellany expressed 



THE NUNS OF ST. CLARE. 4^ 

its surprise that Pittsburg should have been raised to the 
dignity of an episcopal see without its knowledge, and it there- 
upon read Father M^Guire a very orthodox lecture on his 
duties of submission to his ecclesiastical superiors. Poor 
man ! Although St. Paul's did become a cathedral, it was not 
his fault. 

In the year 1828 or 1829 a colony of Poor Clare Nuns 
opened a house of their order in Allegheny town.* With this 
colony came Rev. Vincent Raymacher, O.S.D., who was their 
chaplain until he was succeeded by Rev. A. F. Van de Wejer, 
a Belgian of the same order, some time after the fall of 1830. 
Both these chaplains assisted Father M'Guire, especially in 
ministering to the Germans. The Germans were encouraged 
to contribute towards the erection of the new church by the 
promise that upon its completion St. Patrick's would be given 
to them, and they would be organized into a separate congre- 
gation, During the progress of the work Bishop Kenrick 
visited the city, June 26th, 1830, in company with Bishop Con- 
well, on their way to Philadelphia after the consecration of the 
first-named prelate. Says the correspondent of the U. S. 
Catholic Miscellany : " They were, after their arrival, visited b}^ 
Father M'Guire and his assistant, Rev. Patrick Rafferty, 
Shortly afterwards the prelates visited the ground whereon 
the new and spacious church intended to be dedicated to St. 
Paul is now erecting. They found the building in progress, 
and had occasion to admire the great increase of Catholics in 
the city, where, in the memory of a layman then present, only 
six Catholics existed, whilst now nearly 4000 are calculated 
to be enclosed within its precincts. They inquired the number 
of baptisms on record in the pastor's register during the last 
ten years, and learned that 12 14 had received this sacrament. 
Emigration from Europe had partially swelled the congrega- 
tion ; but conversions had also contributed to its increase. 
Forty-three converts had been received in 1828, and twenty- 
seven in 1829. On Sunday, the 27th, Bishop Conwell admin- 
istered Confirmation in St. Patrick's." 

* The establishment of religious orders, opening of educational and charitable 
institutions, and organization of congregations mentioned in the text will be 
treated of at length in their proper places. 



46 DEATH OF FATHER M'GUIRE. 

But the force of circumstances obliged Father M'Guire 
soon after to suspend work on the new edifice, and before it 
could be resumed he was called to his reward, July 17th, 1833. 
During his pastorate Father M'Guire had for assistants Rev. 
Anthony Kenn}^, Rev. P. Rafferty, Rev. A. F. Van de Wejer, 
Rev. John Grady, Rev. Thos. Gegan, and finally Rev. John 
O'Reilly, who came in November, 1832, and succeeded him 
after his death. 

Father Kenny died soon after his ordination. The follow- 
ing notice of his death, from the American Manufacturer, is all 
we know of Father Gegan : " Rev. Thomas Gegan, late and 
amiable assistant of the late Ch. B. M'Guire, died at Newry, 
Huntingdon County, July 15th, 1833, in the 33d year of his age. 
He was on his way from this city (Pittsburg) to Philadelphia, 
when his stay with Rev. Jas. Bradley was prolonged by an 
aggravation of his disease, consumption, which has thus ter- 
minated his useful and disinterested labors in the ministry of 
the Catholic Church." 

The following biographical notice of Father NPGuire is 
compiled principally from an article published in the A merican 
Manufacturer immediately after his death, and which was 
evidently written by one intimately acquainted with him. 
Many of his relations then lived in the city, and could have 
furnished the writer with all the particulars of his life. If 
space permitted, many interesting incidents could be given of 
his life and character ; but it is necessary to omit them. The 
distinguished services which he rendered to religion in Pitts- 
burg entitle him to a more extended notice than could be 
given to man}- others. 

Rev. Charles Bonaventure M'Guire was born near 
the town of Dungannon, in the county Tyrone, Ireland, in the 
year 1768. (Another account states that he was born Decem- 
ber 1 6th, 1770.) From an early age he was destined for the 
sacred ministry, and having received the rudiments of an 
education at home, he went to the university of Louvain to 
finish his studies. Upon attaining the proper age he was 
ordained, and exercised the duties of the sacred ministry in 
various parts of the Netherlands and Germany. During this 
period he acquired a remarkable knowledge of the German 




BEV. CHARLES B. M'GUIRE, 

FOUNDER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, PITTSBURGH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF FR. M'GUIRE. 47 

language. Soon the fury of the French revolution extended 
to the Netherlands. " He was among the clergy who in 
defence of their own rights and the interests of religion took 
part with the French Government against the revolutionists. 
For this he, in common with the rest of the clergy, was pro- 
scribed and his life forfeited. On one occasion he was seized 
and dragged towards the guillotine, when a cooper, who knew 
him, heroically attacked with an edged instrument of his trade 
the persons who had him in custody, and effected his rescue. 
He fled and escaped, but not until he had witnessed the mas- 
sacre of his noble-souled and lion-hearted deliverer, who was 
instantly cut to pieces by the infuriated insurgents. From 
Louvain he escaped to the city of Rome, where he remained 
for six years in the performance of his clerical duties. He 
left that city at the time that the armed legions of Napoleon 
tyrannized over the Pope and his adherents throughout Italy. 
He then travelled over the most of the Continent of Europe, 
making observations. In 181 5 he was engaged by the King 
of Bohemia to perform a religious office towards a member of 
the royal family who was at Brussels. In the performance of 
this mission it so happened that he reached the city just at the 
time of the memorable battle of Waterloo. To many of the 
wounded and dying he administered the last rites of the 
Church. We have heard him speak of fragments of military 
equipments which he collected on the battle-field, and which 
he preserved as relics of the scene. Shortly after this period 
he started for America, and reached our shores in 18 17. He 
was not stationed until nearly a year after his arrival, although 
engaged in the discharge of pastoral duties. He was then 
stationed as pastor of the congregation in Westmoreland 
County, where he remained until transferred to Pittsburg. 
With his appearance a new era commenced with the entire 
Catholic body. Religion found in him an expositor worthy 
of herself, and the CathoHc body gradually assumed, and 
maintained henceforward, a dignity and respectability in the 
opinions of dissenting Christians which were not allowed them 
before his arrival. As a man, as a priest, as a scholar, none 
knew him but to respect and love him. He was one among 
those rare beings who unite the traits of liberality, urbanity, 



48 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF FR. M'GUIRE. 

and sociableness with the quahties of a pious Christian and an 
eminent scholar. Master of four or five languages, well versed 
in classic lore, he was withal as simple, as inoffensive, as inno- 
cent as a child." In appearance he was tall and portly, of a 
commanding presence, and with a ruddy, good-humored 
countenance. His remains were interred at the convent of 
the Poor Clares (of whom he had been ecclesiastical superior), 
until the completion of the new church, when they were 
deposited in one of the vaults. Upon the destruction of that 
church by fire, in 185 1, they were laid in St. Mary's Cemetery, 
where they yet repose with a simple stone to point them out. 



CHAPTER III. 

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. 

Rev. John O'Reilly pastor of St. Paul's — The church finished and dedicated — A 
description of it — The Germans take possession of St. Patrick's — The Nuns 
of St. Clare withdraw — The Sisters of Charity arrive — An orphan asylum 
opened — New congregations formed — Withdrawal of Father O'Reilly — His 
death — Sketch of his life — Arrival of Very Rev. Michael O'Connor — His 
works — He visits Rome. 

Fortunate was it for the unfinished church and the con- 
gregation that Father O'Reilly succeeded Father M'Guire. 
His skill, energy, and administrative ability eminently fitted 
him for the completion of so important an undertaking. Work 
was immediately resumed on the unfinished church, and 
through his untiring exertions it was ready for dedication 
the following spring. Preparations were made for the cere- 
mony, when a difficulty arose respecting the deed. Bishop 
Kenrick required the trustees to comply with certain regula- 
tions which he had found it necessary to enforce respecting the 
titles of church property ; and the trustees, who were taking 
measures to obtain a charter, imagined that the Bishop was 
about to take the church from them. Matters were explained 
in a satisfactory manner, however, and preparations were 
completed for the solemn ceremony.* The dedication took 
place on Sunday, May 4th, 1834, and the church was placed 
under the invocation of St. Paul the Apostle. Bishop Kenrick 
performed the ceremony, Father O'Reilly sang the Mass, and 
Rev. John Hughes, afterwards Archbishop of New York, 
preached the sermon. Unlike the present cathedral, the old 
St. Paul's fronted on Fifth Avenue. The following descrip- 
tion from the American Manufacturer, and most probably fur- 
* Archbishop Kenrick and his Work: A Lecture by Rev. M. O'Connor, S.J., p. 12. 



50 DESCRIPTION OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. 

nished by the architect, Mr. Kerrins, will give an idea of the 
size and style of the new edifice ; 

" This church, which is probably the largest in the United 
States, occupies an area of 175 by 76 feet, vestries and vesti- 
bules included. The elevation of the side walls to the top of 
the embattled parapets by which they are surmounted is 25 
feet. These are flanked by 26 buttresses, finished with pedi- 
ment pinnacles and crocketed spires. The east end is em- 
bellished with a large ornamented Gothic window in the cen- 
tre, flanked by two others of regular but diminished propor- 
tions, and finished at the top with minaret and cross, sprung 
from rampant arches, and occupying the highest point of the 
gable parapet. The tower stands on the west end, which is 
the front of the church, and is immensely strong, being sup- 
ported by four buttresses with flying terminals. It is yet un- 
finished, being little higher than the comb of the roof."^ 

**This immense superficies is enclosed with four double 
Gothic doors with enriched panels, and 57 splendid ornamen- 
tal windows, exhibiting in perfect symmetry the florid Gothic 
style throughout. The grand entrance is made by three 
double doors, which open into as many vestibules, from the 
right and left of which the galleries are ascended by sets of 
elliptical stairs. The nave is regulated by one central and 
two side aisles, and contains 240 pews, which with those in 
the gallery make 350 (calculated m the aggregate to seat 2500 
persons). There are 16 Gothic columns, 40 feet high, which, 
supporting the heart of the galleries on their richly carved 
capitals, break round the tracery, and extend to support the 
corbels and soffits which form the lowest terminals of the 
richly grained ceiling. The ceiling is Gothic, and is neatly 
frescoed. The chancel, which is separated from the nave by 
railing arranged in open tracery, is spacious, and the most 
splendid of this very splendid edifice. It contains a high 
altar, uniform in style with the church. To the sanctuary 
are attached a small chapel to the rear, and two vestry rooms. 
. . . . One feels instinctively impelled to exclaim, * Truly 
this is the house of God ! ' This feeling is not a little increased 
by the radiant glow encircling the golden cross exhibited 

* It was never finished. 



CHANGES OF PASTORS. ^I 

over the face of the altar canopy, and the very appropriate 
text underneath : ' The Lord is in his holy temple ; let all the 
earth be silent before him.' " 

This splendid edifice was erected without soliciting aid 
from abroad, but many non-Catholic citizens contributed lib- 
erally towards it. To add to the imposing appearance of the 
church, it occupied such a position as to be the first object 
that met the eye of a person approaching the city from any 
direction. 

The English congregation was now transferred to St. 
Paul's, and St. Patrick's became for some years a German 
church. For this reason 1 shall now drop the history of the 
latter until coming to speak of the German congregations of 
the city. Father O'Reilly continued to exercise the office of 
pastor of St. Paul's until April ist, 1837, when he was trans- 
ferred to Philadelphia, and Rev. Thomas Heyden of Bedford 
succeeded him. In the mean time, May, 1835, the Poor Clare 
Nuns withdrew from their convent to another part of Alle- 
gheny, where they remained about two years before return- 
ing to Europe, and a colony of Sisters of Charity from Em- 
mittsburg took up their residence in Pittsburg. When Father 
Heyden was promoted to the See of Natchez, November 22d, 
1837, a dignity which he declined, he returned to Bedford, 
and was succeeded at St. Paul's by Rev. P. R. Kenrick, the 
present Archbishop of St. Louis. In the summer of 1838 
Father O'Reilly, who was then pastor of St. Mary's Church, 
Philadelphia, exchanged places with Father Kenrick, and re- 
turned to Pittsburg. Here he remained until succeeded by 
Very Rev. Michael O'Connor, June 17th, 1841. 

During his second pastorate Father O'Reilly organized 
a board of directors for an orphan asylum, June 6th, 1838, 
purchased property, and opened an asylum. In the following 
summer the first congregation was formed from St. Paul's — 
that of St. Philip's, Broadhead, about three miles south-west 
of the city. About the same time a disturbance arose in a 
portion of St. Paul's congregation out of the enforcement, by 
Bishop Kenrick, of certain regulations respecting the pews, 
by which he sought to increase the revenue of the church. 
The object appears to have been to have the congregation con- 



52 



A SECOND ENGLISH CONGREGATION. 



tribute, as it was unquestionably bound to do, towards the sup- 
port of the diocesan seminary. Be that as it may, I have be- 
fore me a printed circular of an inflammatory character, dated 
June 8th, 1839, addressed to the congregation, and signed 
" Many members of the congregation," in which their "rights** 
are eloquently stated, and strong appeals are made to the 
people to resist every encroachment of authority. This ebul- 
lition appears, however, to have soon after subsided. On the 
second Sunday of October, 1840, St. Patrick's Church was re- 
stored to the English, and Rev. E. F. Garland, who had been 
assistant at St. Paul's since his ordination, in the spring of 
1838, became pastor. Previous to this, Father O Reilly, who 
does not appear to have entertained very flattering ideas of 
the future of Catholicity in Pittsburg, was disposed to sell the 
church. A meeting of the congregation was called to discuss 
the matter, when Father Garland energetically and, as the 
event proved, very wisely opposed the project, and prevented 
the sale of the venerable edifice. This was the second time 
Father O'Reilly wished to dispose of it. It was afterwards 
discovered that it could not have been sold without special 
legislation, as the lots upon which it stood had been donated 
by Mr. O'Hara, as we have seen, as a site for a church and 
for no other purpose whatever. 

Rev. John O'Reilly, CM., deserves to be ranked with 
Father M'Guire as one of the great benefactors of the Church 
in Pittsburg. Born in Ireland, he came to this country before 
the completion of his studies and entered Mount St. Mary's 
College, Emmittsburg, where he finished his course of 
theology and was ordained in 1826 or 1827. He was then 
sent to the mission in Huntingdon and the adjacent coun- 
ties. He erected a church at Huntingdon, another at Belle- 
fonte, and another at Newry ; after which he was transferred 
to St. Paul's, Pittsburg, where we have seen his labors in the 
cause of religion, education, and charity. Upon the arrival 
of Father O'Connor he retired from the diocese and went to 
Rome, where he entered the Congregation of the Mission. 
Returning to the United States, he was made superior of the 
house of the fathers of his order at St. Louis. He was then 
transferred to La Salle, 111., where he founded a house of 



VERY REV. MICHAEL O'CONNOR. 



53 



which he was elected superior, and built a church. From 
there he was taken to the Seminary of St. Mary of the 
Angels, at Niagara Falls, of which he was made superior on 
the promotion of Father Lynch to the archiepiscopal see of 
Toronto. In his declining years he was elected deputy to the 
General Assembly of the Congregation at Paris in the sum- 
mer of 1 86 1. On his return, he retired to St. Louis, where, 
worn out with labors and rich in merit, he was called to his 
reward March 4th, 1862, in the sixty -fifth year of his age. 

An event so fraught with consequences, not only to the 
Church of Pittsburg, but also to that of the entire western 
part of the State, as the arrival of Very Rev. Michael O'Con- 
nor, V.G., at St. Paul's, is thus humbly chronicled in his 
Notes: ''June 17th, 1841. Arrived in Pittsburg on this day 
(Thursday), lodging at Mrs. Timmons' at $4 per week." As 
yet there was no pastoral residence. The congregation at 
this time numbered about 4000 souls, and the pastor was 
assisted in the discharge of his duties by Rev. Joseph F. 
Deane. However successfully the affairs of St. Paul's had 
been administered previous to that date, the arrival of Father 
O'Connor marked the beginning of a new era in the history 
of the congregation. He immediately turned his attention to 
the erection of a school-house, and for that purpose called a 
meeting of the men of the congregation, July i8th, at which 
a committee was appointed and a subscription opened which 
reached $1251 the same day. Arrangements were also made 
at a meeting held December 30th, 1842, for opening a read- 
ing-room. Connected with this was the Catholic Institute, a 
literary society organized January 6th, 1843, " which had for 
its object to promote literary improvement in its members, 
and give them a more thorough acquaintance with history 
and Scripture connected more especially with the develop- 
ment of Catholic principles." 

But Father O'Connor was Vicar-General of the western 
part of the diocese as well as pastor of St. Paul's. In that 
capacity he dedicated St. Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek, 
Armstrong County, July 29th, 1841, and Sts. Simon and 
Jude, Blairsville, Indiana County, October 2d, 1842, and per- 
haps others. He also wrote to Bishop Kenrick recommend- 



24 FATHER O'CONNOR VISITS ROME. 

ing the division of the city into districts, a wish to which the 
Bishop acceded. Other matters having for their object the 
good of rehgion were noted down to be laid before a future 
diocesan synod.* 

He had long been desirous of uniting himself to the 
Society of Jesus, and of thereby escaping the honors he had 
reason to apprehend were in store for him. He set out on a 
visit to Rome, May 5th, 1843, to obtain from the Holy Father 
the requisite permission, as a student of the Propaganda, for 
entering a religious order. But he was hastening towards 
the honors which he sought to escape. During his absence 
Father Hayden again became pastor of St. Paul's, who, on 
the return of Father O'Connor as Bishop, went back to Bed- 
ford. 

* His Notes. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL FROM THE ERECTION 
OF THE SEE OF PITTSBURG TO ITS DIVISION AND THE 
ERECTION OF THE SEE OF ERIE. 

The manner in which the Church was first governed in the United States — Pitts- 
burg an episcopal see — Very Rev. Michael O'Connor consecrated first Bishop 
— Sketch of his early life — Condition of the Church on his arrival — The first 
ordination — The first synod — The colored chapel — The Catholic published — St. 
Michael's Diocesan Seminary — The Bishop visits Europe — The first visitation 
of the diocese — The Cathedral in danger — Statistics — The Cathedral destroyed 
by fire — A new Cathedral commenced — The Bishop visits Rome — Erection of 
the See of Erie — Bishop O'Connor transferred thither — Statistics. 

Before entering- upon the history of Pittsburg as a 
diocese, it becomes necessary to cast a glance at the manner 
in which the Church in this country was first governed. 
Reference will be made to those portions only which were 
subject to the crown of Great Britain. When the numbers 
of the clergy and laity had so far increased that organization 
and a form of government became expedient for the good of 
religion, the Vicar of London, to whose jurisdiction the 
Church in the English colonies pertained, appointed a Vicar- 
General for America. The first of these of whom history 
furnishes reliable information was Rev. John Hunter, an 
Englishman, who resided at Port Tobacco, Md. He was 
exercising jurisdiction as early as 1774, but was succeeded, 
before the breaking out of the Revolution, by Rev. Mr. 
Lewis, who had been Superior of the Jesuits of Maryland 
and Pennsylvania at the time of their suppression. After the 
close of the Revolution the clergy addressed a memorial to 
the Holy See, praying that a Vicar-General might be ap- 
pointed holding immediately from Rome. In compliance 
with this request. Rev. John Carroll was appointed Superior 
of the American clergy in 1785, and received extraordinary 



56 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

faculties. Seeing everywhere on the visitation which he 
made the imperative need of a Bishop, he wrote to that effect 
to the Holy See ; and bulls were expedited early in the spring 
of 1789, authorizing the American clergy to select both the 
priest of their own number best suited in their judgment for 
Bishop, and to name the city most proper for his see. The 
choice fell upon their Superior as the man and Baltimore as 
the place. Both were confirmed at Rome by bulls dated 
November 6th of the same year. The consecration of the 
Bishop-elect was performed by Rt. Rev. Charles Warmsly, 
Bishop of Rama in partibiis and Vicar Apostolic of London, in 
the chapel of Lulworth Castle, August 15th, 1790. At the first 
synod, held at Baltimore, November 7th, 1791, Rev. Anthony 
Francis Fleming was appointed Vicar-General of Pennsylvania. 
But inasmuch as he and his successors resided at Philadelphia, 
they do not appear to have exercised jurisdiction over the 
western part of the State. Baltimore was easier of access at 
that time than Philadelphia. At length the Diocese of Balti- 
more was divided, and that of Philadelphia among others 
erected, April 8th, 1809, embracing the entire States of Penn- 
sylvania and Delaware and a part of New Jersey. Rev. Mi- 
chael Egan was named first bishop ; but the troubled state of 
Europe prevented the bulls of his appointment from arriving 
until September, 18 10. He was consecrated October 28th of 
the same year ; paid one visit to the western part of the State, 
as we have seen ; and died July 22d, 18 14. The see was then 
governed by an administrator, under the title of Apostolic 
Vicar-General. Rev. Lewis de Barth and his successor, Rev. 
William Matthews, were administrators till the fall of 1820, 
at which time a candidate for the mitre was found, after much 
difficulty and many refusals, in the person of Very Rev. Henry 
Conwell, V.G., of Armagh, Ireland. One of the first acts of 
his episcopate was the appointment of Rev. D. A. Gallitzin, of 
Loretto, Vicar-General of the western part of the State. But 
as the limits of his jurisdiction as Vicar-General were not 
defined, he did not exercise his additional faculties till a few 
years later, when the lines were accurately drawn."^ Bishop 
Conwell never visited the western part of the State, except on 

* Life of Gallitzin, by S. M. Brownson, p. 366. 



ERECTION OF THE SEE OF PITTSBURG. 57 

the occasion already mentioned. But when Dr. Kenrick was 
consecrated Coadjutor Bishop of Philadelphia, June 6th, 1830, 
he made frequent visitations in that portion of his diocese. 
About the same time Dr. Gallitzin"^ resigned the office of 
Vicar-General, and no one was appointed until the arrival of 
Rev. M. O'Connor. Having premised so much, we shall now 
take up the history of the erection of the new diocese. 

The geographical position of Pittsburg pointed it out as a 
place of future importance not only in the civil but also in the 
ecclesiastical order. Bishop Flaget appears to have been the 
first to regard it as the future see of a Bishop, having enter- 
tained this idea as early as 1825. Previous to that date Dr. 
Gallitzin urged upon Archbishop Marechal the propriety of 
establishing a bishopric in the western part of Pennsylvania, 
and spoke of the advantages possessed by his favorite Loretto.f 
Few would have agreed with him at that time, so far as the lo- 
cality was concerned ; none would have agreed with him twenty 
years later, when the see was actually established. It was not, 
however, until twelve years later that a motion was made in 
that direction by the proper authorities. '' As early as 1835 
Bishop Kenrick proposed to the Cardinal Prefect of the Pro- 
paganda a division of his diocese by the erection of a new see 
at Pittsburg, and he recommended the appointment of Rev. 
John Hughes as Bishop either of Philadelphia or Pittsburg, as 
might seem most expedient to the Holy See. The suggestion 
was approved, and in January, 1836, the documents erecting the 
new See of Pittsburg and transferring Dr. Kenrick to it, and 
appointing Dr. Hughes Coadjutor and Administrator of Phila- 
delphia, were actually prepared at Rome.":j: Bishop England, 
of Charleston, S. C, suggested a canonical impediment, and 
nothing was done until the meeting of the Third Provincial 
Council at Baltimore, April i6th, 1837, when the matter was 
discussed, but without any definite action being passed upon 
it. The Fourth Council did not raise the question, and in the 
mean time Dr. O'Connor was sent to Pittsburg as Vicar-Gen- 

*I have everywhere used the designation "Dr. Gallitzin," as the name by 
which he is universally known in Western Pennsylvania, 
f Life of Gallitzin, p. 346. 
X Lives of the Deceased American Bishops, vol. i. p. 500. 



5^ EXTENT OF THE DIOCESE. 

eral, as we have seen, which partially supplied the want of a 
Bishop. The subject was taken up in the Fifth Provincial 
Council, which assembled May I4tn, 1843, ^-nd the division was 
recommended to the Holy See, with the name of Dr. O'Con- 
nor, as it is believed, as the most suitable person to fill the 
new see. Both were confirmed at Rome. " The new diocese 
being detached from Philadelphia comprised, according to the 
bull of erection, ' Western Pennsylvania.' This designation 
not being so well defined as was first supposed, the Bishops of 
Philadelphia and Pittsburg agreed to consider the latter as 
comprising the counties of Bedford, Huntingdon, Clearfield, 
M'Kean, and Potter, and all west of them in Pennsylvania. 
This was afterwards confirmed by the Holy See, the two 
Bishops having united in an application for that purpose. 
. . . The new county of Fulton having been created before 
the issuing of this Rescript, it was considered as belonging to 
the Diocese of Philadelphia, inasmuch as, though previously 
forming part of Bedford, it was a separate county at the re- 
ceipt of the Rescript, which described Bedford as the eastern 
boundary of the Diocese of Pittsburg." "^ 

The new diocese consequently embraced twenty-seven of 
the most western counties of the State — Blair, Laurence, and 
Cameron having been formed at a subsequent date — and an 
area of about 21,300 square miles, or a little less than half that 
of the State, with perhaps not more than one third either of 
the entire or of the Catholic population. 

A report of the acts of the Council reached the Holy Father 
soon after the arrival of Dr. O'Connor in Rome, and the con- 
fidence of the American prelates, the reputation of Fr. O'Con- 
nor at Rome, and the impression which his appearance was 
so well calculated to make upon those with whom he came in 
contact, determined the Holy Fa^iher to consult rather for the 
good of the Church than for the wishes of one of her members 
by confirming the choice of the Council. The surprise and 
dismay of the unsuspecting priest may well be imagined, 
when, upon kneeling at the feet of the venerable Pontiff to 
ask permission to enter the Society of Jesus, he was forbidden 
to rise until he should promise to become Bishop of Pittsburg. 

* Diocesan Register. 



EARLY LIFE OF RT. REV. M. a CONNOR, 59 

" You shall be a Bishop first," said the Holy Father, " and a 
Jesuit afterwards." These prophetic words, as we shall see, 
were literally fulfilled. The bull of this appointment was 
dated August 7th, and he was consecrated by Cardinal Fran- 
soni, in the church of St. Agatha, at Rome, on the 15th. Im- 
mediately the care of his diocese became the sole object of 
his attention. But before contemplating him as Bishop a 
brief sketch of his early life will be of advantage to the 
reader. 

Michael O'Connor was born near the city of Cork, Ire- 
land, September 27th, 18 10. He received his early education 
at Queenstown, and at fourteen years of age crossed over to 
France, where he continued his studies for a few years. He 
was then sent to the College of the Propaganda at Rome by. 
the Bishop of Cloyne and Ross. To this institution came 
students from all parts of the world, the select youths of their 
respective dioceses, and to find a place among them was in 
itself an evidence of more than ordinary natural endowments,, 
as well as the manifestation of a disposition to turn them to 
the best account in the service of rehgion. Here he prose^ 
cufed his course of studies, which was closed with one of the 
most successful and brilliant defences ever witnessed in that 
celebrated institution — a defence which left him a reputation 
for learning that few have been able to equal and perhaps, 
none to surpass. Cardinal Wiseman, then rector of the Eng^ 
lish College, speaks in terms of high commendation of the 
manner in which Mr. O'Connor won the doctor's cap and 
ring. He was ordained a priest June ist, 1833, and immediately 
appointed Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Propaganda, 
and soon after Vice-Rector of the Irish College. He returned 
to his native land, but at what precise date is not known, 
and was placed by the Bishop of Cloyne in the parish of 
Fermoy. After remaining in Ireland for some time, he ac- 
cepted the invitation of Bishop Kenrick in 1839 to come to- 
Philadelphia. Immediately after his arrival he was made a 
professor in the ecclesiastical seminary of St. Charles, 
Borromeo, and soon after president. He also attended Mor- 
ristown twice in the month>„ While still at the seminary he 
built St. Francis Xavier's Church, Fairmount, and was finally 



6o ARRIVAL OF THE BISHOP. 

transferred to Pittsburg as Vicar-General and pastor of St. 
Paul's. 

Bishop O'Connor left Rome soon after his consecration, 
and passed through Ireland on his way to America, with a 
view of providing priests and religious for his diocese ; for 
he had not merely to govern, but, much more, to create it. 
Calling at Maynooth, he made an appeal to the students, 
which has been described by one who heard and responded 
to it.^ Says the writer : 

''On an evening in October (1843), ^s the students were 
assembled in the prayer-hall, a strange prelate was observed 
beside the dean .on the bench usually occupied by the latter. 
The whole exterior of the distinguished visitor, in whom it 
was hard to say whether the captivating grace of natural 
dignity or the impressive evidence of intellectual superiority 
predominated, bespoke the presence of no ordinary man." 
Having been introduced by the dean, " the distinguished 
visitor arose and addressed the students ; . . . and in 
conclusion observed he had no inducement to offer except 
plenty of labor and little for it." Five students whose course 
of studies was almost completed, and three others also far 
advanced, resolved to accompany the Bishop. Coming to 
Dublin, he obtained a colony of seven Sisters of the recently 
founded Order of Our Lady of Mercy, to take charge of 
parish schools and of the higher education of young ladies. 
These were the first Sisters of the order to establish a convent 
in the United States ; and the permanent benefit they have 
conferred on religion not only in the Diocese of Pittsburg 
but throughout the country is the highest eulogium that 
could be pronounced on the zeal and foresight of Dr. O'Con- 
nor in introducing them. He sailed for America November 
1 2th, and arrived at Pittsburg on the 3d of December. 

"The following," he writes, "is a description of the Diocese 
of Pittsburg at the time of its erection : 

"In Allegheny County : In the city of Pittsburg there was 
St. Paul's Cathedral, congregation estimated at 4000 souls. 

* Rt. Rev. T. Mullen, Bishop of Erie. Reminiscences of Rev. Thos. M'CullagK, 
p. 27. 



STATISTICS OF THE DIOCESE. 6l 

The Bishop was assisted by Rev. Joseph F. Deane. St. 
Patrick's Church, brick, Rev. E. F. Garland pastor, congre- 
gation about 3000. St. Philomena's (German), temporary 
church, attended by the Redemptorist Fathers, congregation 
about 4000. Rev. A. P. Gibbs resided in Pittsburg to attend 
several small congregations outside the city. St. Philip's 
Church, Chartier's Creek (now Broadhead), brick, congrega- 
tion 150, attended from Pittsburg. Pine Creek Church, log, 
congregation 400. Wexford, St. Alphonsus', brick, about 
250. M'Keesport, St. Peter's, brick, 300. Making in all 
seven churches, six priests, and about 12,500 souls. 

" Westmoreland County : St. Vincent's, brick, and Mt. Car- 
mel (near Derry), log, Rev. Jas. A. Stillenger, 1350. 

" Indiana County : Blairsville, brick, 1000. Cameron Bot- 
tom, stone, 300, Rev. J. A. Stillenger. 

" Butler County : Butler, St. Peter's, stone. Donegal (now 
North Oakland), St. Joseph's, 1300. Murrinsville, St. Alphon- 
sus', stone ; and Clearfield Township (now St. Mary's, Summit), 
500, Rev. H. P. Gallagher. 

'' Armstrong County : St. Patrick's, brick, formerly known 
as Buffalo Creek Mission, 1000; and St. Mary's, Freeport, 
brick, 300, Rev. J. Cody. 

^^ Washington County : West Alexander, St. James', log, 107. 

'■^Fayette County : Brownsville, church in course of erection, 
of stone, 183 souls. 

" Greene County : Waynesburg, St. Anne's, brick, 64. 
Other stations in Washington, Fayette, and Greene counties, 
160, Rev. M. Gallagher. 

^''Beaver County : Beaver, Sts. Peter and Paul, frame, 300. 

*' Bedford County : Bedford, St. Thomas', brick, 200 ; and 
Somerset County : Harman Bottom, St. John's, stone, Rev. 
Thos. Heyden, 400. 

*' Huntingdon County : Huntingdon, Holy Trinity, brick, 
175. Blair County: Newry, St. Patrick's, stone; Hollidays- 
burg and Sinking Valley, churches in course of erection. Rev. 
Jas. Bradly, 1 100. 

''Cambria County: Loretto, St. Michael's, frame, 1800; 
Jefferson (now Wilmore), St. Bartholomew's, stone, 550; 
Johnstown, St. John Gualbert's, brick, 400; Ebensburg, St. 



62 LABORS OF THE BISHOP. 

Patrick's, frame, 250; Hart's Sleeping Place, St. Joseph's, 
log, 300 ; and Summit, St. Aloysius' Church, in course of 
erection, frame, 500, Rev. H. Lemcke and Rev. M. Gibson." * 

From this it will be seen that the Bishop had in his 
diocese thirty-three churches, a few of which were un- 
finished ; fourteen priests, and a Catholic population of a 
little less than 25,000. There was also an orphan asylum, 
affording shelter to about twenty orphans. As yet there 
were but two religious communities in the diocese, the 
Redemptorist Fathers and the Sisters of Charity. 

But it was not long before the influence of the Bishop's 
presence was everywhere felt. One of his first official acts 
was the ordination of Mr. Thos. M'Cullagh, one of the 
students who had accompanied him from Maynooth. It took 
place February 4th, 1844, and was the first ordination for the 
Diocese of Pittsburg. St. Paul's schools, already mentioned, 
were opened April 14th ; and at the call of the Bishop the 
congregation met, June 14th, to take measures toward the 
erection of an episcopal residence. The result was a neat and 
commodious dwelling for the Bishop and the priests attached 
to the cathedral. On the i6th of the same month the first 
diocesan synod was held, and statutes were enacted for the 
government of the Church. Still another good work was 
inaugurated on the 30th of the same month, the opening of 
the Chapel of the Nativity, for the use of the colored Catho- 
lics of the city. 

Later in the same year the city council passed an ordinance 
to grade off the streets a few feet on Grant's Hill, as that part 
of the city on which the cathedral stands was then called. 
It was feared that the foundation of St. Paul's would be 
thereby endangered, and a subscription was started to raise 
money to build walls to support the ground upon which it 
stood and prevent it from gradually crumbling away. But 
when the grading was finished all fears were dispelled, and a 
motion was set on foot for finishing the tower, which had not 
been raised above the roof of the church. This was also 
abandoned. 

The Sisters of Mercy opened an academy for young 

* Diocesan Register. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE DIOCESE. 63 

ladies in September ; while one for boys was opened about 
the same time, with Rev. T. Mullen, the present Bishop of 
Erie, as principal. A circulating library came into existence 
about this time. There were also two temperance societies 
attached to St. Paul's and St. Patrick's churches, containing 
in the aggregate 3500 members. The only other temperance 
society in the city was one composed of Welshmen, and 
numbering 400 members."^ The publication of The Catholic 
was begun in February of this year. But by far the most 
important work undertaken by the Bishop, and one which 
evinces both his zeal and his courage, was the founding of St. 
Michael's Ecclesiastical Seminary for the education of candi- 
dates for the sacred ministry. Its beginnings were humble, 
but it was notwithstanding destined to be productive of incal- 
culable benefit to the cause of religion. A limited number of 
students were at first assembled in a small building at the 
corner of Smithfield Street and Virgin Alley, with Rev. 
Richard H. Wilson, D.D., as principal professor ; and an 
effort was made to erect a seminary on a part of the lot occu- 
pied by the cathedral. For this purpose a meeting was held 
June 14th, 1844, at which $2000 were subscribed ; but the 
plan was not carried into execution, and the students appear 
to have remained in their first building until they were trans- 
ferred to Birmingham, in 1847. Thus we see that in the brief 
space of a single year the Bishop had succeeded in thoroughly 
organizing all the departments of his vast diocese. 

But the scarcity of priests and teachers was sorely felt in 
the diocese, and it must be some years before a competent 
supply of either could be expected from the diocese itself. In 
the mean time the Bishop, like many of his colleagues in the 
episcopacy, must draw upon the Catholic countries of Europe 
for the necessary supply. Fortunately the American Church 
has seldom appealed in vain ; and the number of priests and 
*rehgious of both sexes from Germany and France, and most 
of all from Ireland, who devoted their energies and lives to 
the cause of religion in this country will in all future times be 
held in grateful remembrance. The Bishop set out for Rome 

* Harris' Business Directory, 1844. 



64 VISITATION OF THE DIOCESE. 

and other European countries in the interest of his diocese 
July 23d, 1845, leaving Very Rev. J. A. Stillenger Vicar- 
General and Administrator. Among the acquisitions which 
he brought with him on his return were four Presentation 
Brothers from the city of Cork, who were expected to found 
a house of their institute and take charge of the boys' schools. 
He arrived in Pittsburg on his return, December 13th. 

Having organized his diocese, the Bishop set out on his 
first visitation, July, 1846, commencing at Beaver and passing 
north and east through the present Diocese of Erie. I have 
before me, in his own handwriting, a brief account of this 
visitation, with the number of souls in each congregation, the 
number confirmed, and other matters of interest. This visita- 
tion was completed the following summer. But by far the 
most important event of this year was the introduction of a 
large colony of the venerable and learned Order of St. Bene- 
dict, which came from Bavaria and settled at St. Vincent's, 
Westmoreland County, October 24th. Further on an occa- 
sion will be presented of speaking at great length of this 
foundation, and the good it has achieved in the cause of 
religion and religious education. This, too, was the first intro- 
duction of the Benedictine Order into the United States. 
Two new churches were also dedicated this year. The 
Catholic population of the diocese is given in the Catholic 
Directory for this year at 30,000. 

The year 1847 was destined to be more eventful than any 
of its predecessors. The Mercy Hospital was opened by the 
Sisters of Mercy in January, in a temporary building, and in 
August the contract was let for the erection of the present 
spacious building. June 2d, Rev. Jos. F. Deane withdrew 
from the cathedral, where he had been since before the first 
arrival of Dr. O'Connor, to a mission in Clarion County, 
bearing with him a testimonial from the congregation. He 
was succeeded by Rev. James Madison Lancaster, late of 
Kentucky. Prior to this date the Bishop had purchased a 
large farm on the side and top of the hill south of Birmingham, 
known at present as Mt. Oliver, for which he paid, I believe, 
$16,000. It was a profitable investment; for after perhaps 
$100,000 worth of building lots had been sold, the balance was 



THE CATHEDRAL IN DANGER. 



65 



assessed before the panic at $162,000. St. Michael's Church, 
the Franciscan Convent, and the Passionist Monastery stand 
on a part of it. The frame house on the property, which had 
been occupied for a time by the Presentation Brothers, now 
became St. Michael's Seminary, under the presidency of Rev. 
Thos. M'Cullagh. In the same year was introduced a colony 
of Brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis, as school and 
college teachers, who came from Clifton and Roundstone, in 
the Archdiocese of Tuam, Ireland, and established themselves 
at Loretto. But the event of the greatest importance to St. 
Paul's and to the diocese was the second grading of the 
streets on Grant's Hill, begun in June of this year, by which 
the foundations of the cathedral were irreparably injured and 
the approach rendered extremely difficult. When the grading 
was completed the cathedral stood perched on a mound some 
twenty feet or more above the level of the street, and high 
flights of stairs were necessary to enable the congregation to 
enter it. The bank was sustained by temporary supports ; 
but it was evident to all that the venerable edifice could not 
stand long, owing to the action of the frost and rain on the 
foundation. A suit was instituted against the city, and a 
verdict obtained for $4000 ; but an appeal was made to the 
Supreme Court, which on the 7th of November, 185 1, con- 
firmed the sentence of the inferior tribunal. But besides the 
delay and expense in obtaining redress, the award was trifling 
when compared with the injury inflicted on the building and 
the expense and inconvenience entailed on the congregation. 
The episcopal residence, which had been built after the first 
grading, did not suffer. 

Four new churches were dedicated this year. 

The following is the registry of baptisms at St. Paul's for 
the fourteen years from 1834 to 1848. The years date from 
May to May, because it was in that month the church was 
dedicated. It will also show the population to have been 
fluctuating ; but account must be had of the new congrega- 
tions formed during that time in the city and vicinity. In 
1834 there were 222 baptisms; in 1835, 210; in 1836, 252; in 
1837, 260; in 1838, 218; in 1839, S^^; in 1840, 252; in 1841, 
144; in 1842,204; in 1843,218; in 1844, 212; in 1845, l'^^'^ 



66 A CHURCH IN ALLEGHENY CITY. 

in 1846, 234; in 1847, 304 — total, 3362. These with the 1214 
baptized from 1820 to 1830, and perhaps 600 between 1830 
and 1834, and 400 prior to 1820, will give a grand total of 
5576. In September of this year Father Lancaster returned to 
his native State, where he died a few years ago, Vicar-General 
of the Diocese of Covington. He was succeeded in the pas- 
torate of St. Paul's by Rev. James 0'Meall3^ The Oblate 
Fathers of the Blessed Virgin Mary took charge of St. Mi- 
chael's Seminary November 22d, but remained only a short 
time. 

Five new churches were erected in 1848. 

The year 1848 was not so eventful as its predecessor had 
been. The congregation continued to augment with the in- 
crease of the population of the city. But, inasmuch as many 
Catholics had by this time taken up their residence in Alle- 
gheny City, the necessity of forming a congregation on that 
side of the river became daily more apparent. A meeting of 
those interested was therefore called in September, the new 
congregation was organized, and measures were taken for 
purchasing a site and erecting a church. What was then 
humbly commenced has since grown into St. Peter's parish, 
perhaps the most flourishing English congregation in the 
western part of the State. 

The cemetery attached to St. Patrick's Church, and that 
on Boyd's Hill near the Mercy Hospital, in which the Eng- 
lish Catholics were interred, became so full, and so much 
within the constantly extending limits of the city, that it was 
necessary to purchase new grounds, and these, if possible, so 
extensive as to serve for a general burying-ground for all the 
English congregations of the city for the future. To this 
end the present St. Mary's Cemetery, consisting originally of 
about fifty acres, was purchased early in 1849, ^^ a cost of 
$20,000. It was chartered soon after, and has since been used 
and will for many years be the general cemetery of the city. 
In the same year the Franciscan Brothers from Loretto estab- 
lished a house of their order in the city, and took charge of 
the boys of St. Paul's school. About the same time the cele- 
brated Joe Barker, whose name figures so prominently in the 
Know Nothing movements in the city, began to gain noto- 



BURNING OF THE CATHEDRAL. 67 

riety by his inflammatory street harangues against the Church 
and the clergy. 

There were two churches enlarged and a new one built in 
1849. 

The condition of the cathedral became daily more precari- 
ous, on account of the injury done the foundation, and a meet- 
ing was called January 27th, 1850, to consider what was best to 
be done, although on this point there could be little difference 
of opinion. It was unanimously resolved to tear it down, 
grade off the lot to the level of the street, and erect a new 
one. It is proper to state that measures of this kind would 
have been taken perhaps two years before, but for the tardi- 
ness of the city officials in cutting down the streets and fixing 
their final grade. The necessar}^' committees were appointed 
at the meeting, and a subscription for the new cathedral was 
opened, which the Bishop headed with $1000. Proposals 
for grading the lot were asked, and plans were ordered for 
the new edifice. The latter were accepted July 20th ; but the 
lateness of the season made it advisable to await the coming 
spring before commencing work. 

Father O'Meally had withdrawn from the cathedral to 
Cincinnati early in the spring, and was succeeded in April 
by Rev. Edward M'Mahon, who had lately arrived from Lex- 
ington, Ky. This zealous and laborious priest was destined 
to play a more important part in the history of St. Paul's, and 
of the diocese, than any other had done since the days of 
Father O'Reilly. 

In 1850 two new churches were built. 

The subscription for the new cathedral had reached almost, 
if not quite, $30,000 by the spring of 185 1 ; and when all was 
in readiness for commencing to tear down the old building, 
and when even the insurance policies, with the exception of 
one of $5000, had been permitted to expire in view of that 
event, this noble monument of the zeal, energy, and taste of 
Father M'Guire took fire at the roof from sparks from a 
chimney of the episcopal residence, at 1 1 o'clock a.m.. May 
6th, and was entirely destroyed with the exception of such 
furniture as could be hastily removed. The organ, valued at 
$3000, was a total loss. The Bishop was absent at the time. 



68 THE NEW CATHEDRAL. 

Nothing remained but to carry the plan of a new building 
into immediate execution. The remains of Fathers M'Guire, 
Hoy, M'Caffrey, and Kenny were removed from the vaults of 
the ruins to the new cemetery, where they still repose ; and 
work was commenced on the foundation. It was prosecut- 
ed with such despatch that the foundations were ready for the 
laying of the corner-stone by the middle of June of the same 
year. In the mean time, and until the basement was finished, 
the people accommodated themselves as best they could in the 
school-rooms. The corner-stone was laid with great solem- 
nity by the Bishop on the afternoon of Trinity Sunday, June 
15th, 185 1. Two inscriptions were placed in the stone^ one 
of which referred to the old cathedral and the other to the new 
one. The completion of the cathedral was now the great work 
for the Bishop and his people. But it was not to be the work 
of a day. The Know Nothing excitement, under the charm of 
Joe Barker's popular eloquence, now began to disturb the 
quiet of the city and turn the tide of shallow public opinion 
against the Cathohc portion of the population. Adverse cir- 
cumstances and the breaking out of the cholera forced the 
Bishop to close the Seminary in June, and send his students 
to other institutions to complete their course of studies ; and 
it was not reopened for five years. 

Five new churches were dedicated in 185 1. 

Work was progressing on the cathedral when 1852 set in 
to mark its impress on the diocese and the world. The in- 
crease of the Catholic population, the extent of the diocese, 
and the want of facilities for travelling rapidly from place to 
place induced the Bishop to consider the propriety of having 
the diocese divided and a new one formed from the northern 
counties. He laid the matter before the Fathers of the First 
Plenary Council of Baltimore, which assembled May 9th ; and 
as his reasons for the division were strong, and his voice 
well-nigh all-powerful, the matter was decided according to 
his wishes, and the formation of a new diocese, with the see at 
Erie, was recommended to the Holy See. The Holy Father 
confirmed the action of the Council by a bull, dated April 29th, 
1853, of which we shall take occasion to speak further on. 

Father M'Mahon was made Vicar-General of the Diocese 



THE DIOCESE DIVIDED. 69 

of Pittsburg April 26th, 1852. But the scarcity of priests 
still greatly perplexed the good Bishop. He was, besides, 
anxious to have religious established in his diocese whose duty 
it should be to give missions in the churches.. With a view of 
procuring them, as well as of transacting other business of im- 
portance connected with the administration of the diocese, he 
set out on a trip to Europe July 23d, leaving Father M'Mahon 
Administrator during his absence. When in Rome he called 
on the Father General of the Passionist Order, and obtained 
the promise of a small colony of the order for his diocese. 
Three Fathers sailed for America, landing at Philadelphia, 
whence they proceeded to Pittsburg, where they established 
the first house of their congregation in the United States, and 
which is still the mother-house. Thus was Dr. O'Connor the 
first to introduce another order into the country, and again 
did the results which followed attest the wisdom of his choice. 
He arrived in Pittsburg on his return, November 20th. 

In the spring of this year St. Bridget's congregation was 
organized by Father Tuigg, the present Bishop of Pittsburg, 
principally from St. Patrick's, but in part also from St. Paul's. 
St. James', Temperanceville, was also formed in autumn, partly 
from St. Paul's and partly from St. Philip's, Broadhead. 

In 1852 there were two new churches built. 

In January and February, 1853, the Bishop addressed a 
number of letters to the Governor of Pennsylvania on the com- 
mon schools, which he published in The Catholic. 

The bulls dividing the Diocese of Pittsburg and erecting 
the new See of Erie were dated, as we have said, April 29th, 
1853. The dividing line ran east and west along the northern 
boundaries of Cambria, Indiana, Armstrong, Butler, and Lau- 
rence counties, giving thirteen counties to the new and fifteen 
to the old diocese. The area of the Diocese of Pittsburg was 
reduced from 21,300, to 1 1,314 square miles, or a fraction more 
than one fourth that of the State ; but it retained full three 
fourths of the Catholic population of the original diocese. 
Dr. O'Connor chose the new bishopric as his portion , and, 
the Holy See approving his choice, he was transferred thither 
by a Bull dated July 29th, 1853. A bull was also expedited 
promoting Rev. Josue M. Young, of the Archdiocese of Cin- 



70 BISHOP a CONNOR TRANSFERRED. TO ERIE. 

cinnati, to the vacant See of Pittsburg. Bishop O'Connor, to 
the great grief of the CathoHcs and all the citizens of Pitts- 
burg, set out for his new field of labor October 14th, bearing 
with him addresses from both the clergy and lait}^ of his late 
diocese. Very Rev. E. M*]Mahon was appointed administra- 
tor of Pittsburg until the consecration of the Bishop-elect. 

A comparison of the condition of the diocese at the date of 
its division with w^hat it was at the time of its erection will 
furnish the most convincing evidence of the zeal, prudence, 
and energy which characterized the Administration of Bishop 
O'Connor during the nine years that he filled the See of 
Pittsburg. At the time of the division there were seventy- 
eight churches, and four more in course of erection ; sixty- 
four clergymen ; and a Catholic population of 50,000. 



CHAPTER V. 

HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL FROM THE ERECTION OF 
THE SEE OF ERIE TO THE RESIGNATION OF BISHOP 
O'CONNOR. 

Visit of Cardinal Bedini — Know Nothingism — Bishop O'Connor returns to Pitts- 
burg — He visits Rome — Consecration of the Cathedral — A description of the 
building — Decline of the Bishop's health — He travels in Europe and the Holy 
Land — Petitions for a coadjutor — Travels in Mexico — Thinks of resigning — 
Visits Rome — Resigns — His episcopate — Death — Biographical notice. 

On the loth of December, 1853, the Papal Nuncio, Cardi- 
nal Cajetan Bedini, arrived m Pittsburg, and was received in 
the basement of the new cathedral, which had been opened on 
the 8th of the preceding September. The Know Nothings 
were then at the zenith of their power, and during the few 
days His Eminence stopped in the city he could not be per- 
mitted to remain without insult. His carriage was surrounded 
and stopped near St. Patrick's Church, but the crowd was 
dispersed with little further demonstration than insulting lan- 
guage. It was at this time and in the following year that Joe 
Barker, then in the height of his glory, allowed nothing that 
was Catholic to escape his vituperation. The character of the 
Bishop and his clergy was attacked with fabricated stories, 
and in the excitement of the moment, when many were dis- 
posed to listen with avidity to any abuse of foreigners — which 
usually means Irish Catholics — they experienced no little anx- 
iety. So well planned were some of his attacks upon charac- 
ter that it was with the greatest difficulty that even the Bishop 
could succeed in repelling them. So high did feeling run for 
a time that the Bishop found it necessary to require the clergy 
to lay aside every distinctive mark in dress, etc., the better to 
escape molestation and insult. Having enjoyed his triumph, 
the unhappy Barker was destined to feel the hand of God, 



72 WORK ON THE CATHEDRAL. 

whom he had insulted in his Church and its ministers. Re- 
turning from a poHtical meeting which he had addressed, 
he was struck by a locomotive while walking on the rail- 
road, and, being thrown down a steep embankment, was in- 
stantly killed, August 2d, 1862. 

The enmity to the Church which the Know Nothing 
movement had fanned into a flame added to the difficulty of 
raising means for the completion of the Cathedral. The base- 
ment had been finished and opened for divine service, as we 
have said ; and it was the intention of the Bishop to have built 
the entire structure of cut stone. But the magnitude of the 
undertaking, and the difficulty of collecting means, forced him 
reluctantly to abandon this design after the completion of the 
basement, and finish the superstructure in brick, roughly, to 
be afterwards coated with cement in imitation of stone. But 
this coating has never yet been put on, and most probably 
never will be. 

The number of churches finished and dedicated during 
the course of 1853 was six. 

The clergy and people of Pittsburg felt deeply the loss of 
their good Bishop, and united in a petition to the Holy See 
for his return. They felt that he who had ruled the diocese 
with so much zeal and prudence in the past, and who was 
intimately acquainted with all that related to its every depart- 
ment, must continue its government more successfully than 
any other ; and that he who had planned its great Cathedral 
was the most fitting person to secure the execution of his 
plans. The reluctance of Father Young to accept the mitre 
of Pittsburg seconded their petition, and induced the Holy 
See to grant their request. A bull was issued, restoring him 
to his former see, February 20th, 1854. He returned soon 
after, and Father Young was (Consecrated Bishop of Erie. 

The Bishop pushed forward the work on the new Cathe- 
dral amid almost insurmountable difficulties, arising in part 
out of the magnitude of the undertaking, in part out of the 
feelings of the people towards the Catholics, and in part out 
of the financial depression that was everywhere beginning to 
be felt. But Dr. O'Connor was not a prelate to be easily 
turned aside from his purpose, and while he realized to their 



THE BISHOP IN ROME. 73 

full extent the difficulties by which he was surrounded, he yet 
entered upon the struggle with that energy which was charac- 
teristic of him, and that confidence in Divine Providence 
which marks the true Christian. And the people of our day 
who contemplate this magnificent pile have their admiration 
for him who planned and built it no little increased by a 
knowledge of the fact that it required almost superhuman 
efforts on the part of as great a mind as that of Bishop 
O'Connor to call it into existence. But he was already begin- 
ning to pay the penalty of his zeal in the impairing of his 
health, which began about this time to give evidence of a 
decline. 

The summons of the Holy Father called the hierarchy of 
the Catholic world to the Eternal City, and Dr. O'Connor was 
again obliged to visit Rome. Leaving Father M'Mahon 
Administrator during his absence, he sailed on the 14th of 
October, 1854, and, having transacted business connected with 
the administration of the diocese in other parts of Europe, 
arrived in Rome a few days before the ever-memorable 8th of 
December. It was on this day that the dogma of the Imma- 
culate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was defined to 
be an article of faith ; and it is believed that in promoting this 
important decision the influence of the Bishop of Pittsburg 
contributed no little. It is asserted by some, but upon what 
authority I know not, that certain alterations in the wording 
of the decree itself were due to the learning of the same pre- 
late. Having witnessed with no ordinary spiritual consola- 
tion the promulgation of a decree at which the whole Catholic 
world burst forth in acclamations of joy and thanksgiving, 
Dr. O'Connor returned to his diocese, arriving in Pittsburg 
January 24th, 1855. 

In 1854 there were two churches enlarged and seven new 
ones built. 

The great work of the Bishop — his new Cathedral — was 
drawing toward completion, or toward the state in which it 
would be allowed to remain until the times should improve ; 
and preparations were made for its solemn consecration. 
There it stood in majestic grandeur, on one of the most 
prominent sites in the city, having sprung into life in the 



74 CONSECRATION OF THE CATHEDRAL. 

midst of the bitterest Know Nothing times, a silent witness of 
the power of the Church against the spirit of Satan. At the 
time of its consecration it was, if not the largest church in the 
United States, the largest with but one or two exceptions; 
while in point of architectural beauty it was, and is yet, un- 
surpassed by any church on the American continent. 

Sunday, June 24th, 1855, was the day fixed for the solemn 
consecration. The preparations were in keeping with the 
grandeur of the temple that was to be dedicated to the Most 
High. The Most Rev. F. P. Kenrick, Archbishop of Balti- 
more, was the consecrating prelate. The following prelates, 
and a large number of the clergy of this and other dioceses, 
were present : Most Rev. Archbishop Hughes, of New York ; 
Bishops O'Connor, of Pittsburg ; Poitier, of Mobile; Whelan, 
of Wheeling ; Henni, of Milwaukee ; O'Reilly, of Hartford ; 
Spalding, of Louisville ; Rappe, of Cleveland ; Neumann, of 
Philadelphia; M'Gill, of Richmond; Loughlin, of Brooklyn; 
Amat, of Monterey ; Young, of Erie ; Reagan, of Chicago ; 
Timon, of Buffalo ; and Carroll, of Covington. The Bishops 
and clergy who assisted at the consecration entered the 
Cathedral at five o'clock, the people not being admitted, and 
the solemn ceremony was begun. At nine o'clock the pro- 
cession of the prelates and clergy moved from the episcopal 
residence to the main entrance, and passing up the nave 
entered the sanctuary. Soon the people, who had been im- 
patiently waiting, thronged into the sacred edifice, filling 
every available spot, and it is estimated that about six thou- 
sand were able to find room within its walls. Right Rev. M. 
Poitier, Bishop of INIobile, celebrated Mass, and Archbishop 
Hughes, of New York, preached the dedication sermon, tak- 
ing for his text the words of St. Paul, Acts xx. 28 : " Take 
heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, wherein the 
Holy Ghost hath placed you Bishops, to rule the Church of 
God which he hath purchased with his own blood." The 
sermon was one of Dr. Hughes' best efforts. Dr. Kenrick 
preached in the evening, at Vespers, on the character and 
virtues of St. John the Baptist. Thus ended one of the most 
memorable days witnessed by the Church in this country. 

Says a writer of the day : '' No artist, however skilled, can 



DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL. hc 

convey an adequate idea of the massive beauty of this build- 
ing. It is a cathedral. Take away even the spires and crosses, 
and there is no fear of its being taken for anything but a 
Catholic church. The former Cathedral was in its day a 
wonder, but this is the wonder, and will be so for many days, 
years, and centuries, should not some unlucky disaster over- 
whelm the well-proportioned pile." But it is the material 
structure and not the decoration that must be considered. 
Frescoing would undoubtedly add to its appearance; but 
even under the coating of dust which attaches itself to every 
object in the '' Smoky City," the perfect harmony of all its 
parts uniting to form a grand whole is such as to make it one 
of the most splendid architectural monuments in America. 
The following description was furnished by Mr. Charles 
Bartberger, the architect: The ground form of the building 
is the Roman cross ; its head forms the sanctuary or chancel, 
its arms the south and north wings of the transept, with the 
dome standing over the centre. Of this dome it must be 
remarked that from the exterior there is nothing that could 
lead the spectator to look for such an object. You behold a 
gigantic steeple with spire and cross rising, it may indeed be 
said with truth, speaking of the '' Smoky City, ' far above the 
clouds. It is then an unexpected delight when you approach 
the chancel to look up to a very high and very large dome, 
through the windows of which heaven's pure light, like an 
emblem of its grace, beams on the sanctuary. The stem of 
the cross forms the nave, with the aisles attached to its sides. 
The outer aisles are to be closed by towers, which are con- 
nected by a corridor, or rather an arcade, into which the 
congregation enter by three doorways from Grant Street ; 
and two doorways, one in each tower, from the opposite sides 
of the building. The arcade supports the organ-loft, and is 
the termination of the nave and the inner aisles. The building 
is capable of holding at least five thousand persons. The 
ground upon which the cathedral stands falls from the front, 
giving a basement under the rear half of the building capable: 
of accommodating about sixteen hundred persons. It is used' 
as the children's chapel, and for lectures, etc. 

The shortness of the lot, 240 feet, prevented the full ex- 



76 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL. 

tension of the longitudinal dimensions of the building. The 
front, consequently, seems rather wide in proportion to the 
length. In the angles formed by the transept and the sanc- 
tuary are arranged the sacristies. Between these and the 
transept, and opening into the latter, are two chapels on each 
side of the high altar. The dome is supported by four mas- 
sive Norman pillars. Two rows of pillars support the cleres- 
tory roof and ceiling, while two outer rows support the roof 
of the aisles and their ceilings, which, as all the ceilings of the 
church, are finished with stucco in the rich composite style of 
Gothic and Byzantine. 

The following are the principal dimensions : Extreme 
length, 220 feet ; extreme width, 140 feet ; width of front, 1 16 
feet. The sanctuary and both wings of the transept are 42 
feet square by 75 feet high ; nave, 1 1 5 feet by 42 feet wide 
and 75 feet high; two aisles, each 115 feet long by 15 wide 
and 60 high ; two outer aisles, each 100 by 14 feet and 48 
high. Height of side walls from floor of church, 32 feet. 
Height of the clerestory walls from floor of church, 66 feet. 
The dome covers a square of 42 feet by 130 from the upper, 
or 152 from the lower floor in the clear. Its full height is 
272 feet. The two towers on the corners in front are not yet 
finished. The basement walls are faced with brown sand- 
stone ; the cornice tops, etc., are of cut stone, as are the 
bases of the exterior walls and of the inner pillars and 
columns, the shafts of which are built of hard brick laid in 
cement. The roofs are covered with tile. 

Enter the church. The first object of attraction on the 
right, near the entrance, in a semicircular recess with light 
beaming from the top, and enclosed by a semicircular railing, 
is the baptistery. Look around. All the appropriate orna- 
ments, which impart so rich a finish, are stucco work. The 
groined ceiling of the nave is ornamented by portraits of the 
twelve Apostles. The walls of the transept and sanctuary 
are adorned by six colossal statues representing St. Peter, St. 
Paul, St. Patrick, St. Bridget, St. Aloysius, and St. Rose. 
The windows are all of stained glass of home manufacture, 
not gorgeous, but in perfect keeping with the majesty of the 
place. The Bishop's throne, the stalls for the clergy, and the 



DECLINE OF THE BISHOPS HEALTH 77 

pulpit are of white oak, and, like the massive communion- 
rail and eight confessionals, are carved in highly ornamental 
style. The same may be said of the ends and doors of the 
pews. The altars, five in number, including the main one, 
are of wood, but so beautifully carved and so richly gilded 
as to leave nothing to regret. The organ, which is but a 
small one, is placed not on the gallery over the main entrance, 
but in a small organ-loft in the right transept. 

The estimated cost of the cathedral was eighty thousand 
dollars. But before its completion it cost much more ; and 
although the exact amount is not known, and could not per- 
haps be ascertained, it is no overestimate to fix it in round 
numbers at three hundred thousand dollars. 

Seven new churches were erected in 1855, and but two in 
the following year. 

The study and labor connected with the building of the 
Cathedral and the government of the diocese proved too 
great a burden for the Bishop ; and his health began rapidly 
to decline during 1855 and 1856. Toward the close of the 
latter year he was advised by his physician to take a trip to 
Europe for the benefit of his health. He accordingly sailed 
December loth, accompanied by Rev. T. S. Reynolds, leav- 
ing Very Rev. E. M'Mahon Administrator during his absence. 
After stopping a short time at Rome and in other parts of 
Europe, he sailed for Alexandria, in Egypt, in April, 1857, 
stopping at Malta a few days on his way. Toward the latter 
end of May he passed into the Holy Land. The first Mass 
he celebrated at Jerusalem was in the grotto of the Holy 
Sepulchre. A month later he was at Constantinople ; and 
having passed slowly through Europe he returned home, 
arriving in Pittsburg September i6th. But his health was 
but little improved, and fears were entertained that it would 
never be restored, or if at all, it would only be after a still 
further repose. 

During his stay in Rome he procured the magnificent 
painting of the Crucifixion over the high altar of the Cathe- 
dral. It is from the pencil of Gagliardi, a celebrated artist, 
and was painted expressly for the altar of St. Paul's. It is in 
the stvle of Guido Reni, and represents our divine Redeemer 



78 HE PETITIONS FOR A COADJUTOR. 

hanging on the cross in the dim Hght of Good Friday after- 
noon, with Mary Magdelene cKnging convulsively to the 
redeeming wood, while across the top of the picture is the 
appropriate legend which it so fittingly illustrates : " God hath 
so loved us." In addition to its beauty ol execution is its 
colossal size, it being twenty-seven feet high by twelve wide. 
The dust of the city has dimmed the lustre of this magnifi- 
cent work of art, but to the eye of the critic it will ever pay 
a fitting tribute to the eminent master whose work it is. 

The Bishop now thought of procuring aid in the admin- 
istration of the diocese, and accordingly petitioned the Holy 
See for a coadjutor. In compliance with his request. Rev. 
John B. Byrne, of St. Matthew's Church, Washington City, 
was appointed coadjutor May 9th, 1857. He did not arrive 
in Pittsburg until about the end of August, soon after which 
time the day of his consecration was fixed. But quite unex- 
pectedly the bulls were returned, and he retired to Mount St. 
Mary's, where he died a few^ years later. The dignity was 
then offered to Very Rev. Edward Purcell, brother of the 
Archbishop of Cincinnati ; but he declined the honor, and 
Bishop O'Connor was left to bear the burden unaided. His 
health was now so much impaired that his physician required 
him to seek the air of a more southern clime during the win- 
ter months ; and he accordingly set sail for the West Indies 
and Mexico in October, 1857. But so far from reposing he 
spent much of his time in collecting money for the Cathedral, 
an undertaking in w^hich he met with considerable success. 
[857, it will be remembered, was the year of the great 
financial panic ; and the Bishop's home resources were 
limited. Returning, he arrived in Pittsburg April 22d, 1858. 
But his desire of laboring for the good of his diocese pre- 
vented him from reposing even when he professed to do so ; 
and his return found his health still more impaired than it 
was at his departure. During this year he was unable to 
make the visitation of his diocese ; and Bishop Young, of 
Erie, performed it, or at least a part of it, for him. 

In 1857 three new churches were added to the diocese. 

Fearing that the Church would suffer from his inability to 
administer the affairs of the diocese, he began seriously to 



RESIGNATION OF BISHOP O'CONNOR, 79 

entertain the thought of resigning an office he felt himself 
no longer able to filL He again crossed the Atlantic July 
i6th, 1859, ^'^d visited Rome, leaving his brother, Rev. James 
O'Connor, the present Vicar Apostolic of Nebraska, Adminis- 
trator in his absence. He did not return, it would appear, 
before the beginning of the following year ; and then only to 
bid farewell to the flock in whose behalf he had so zealously 
labored. 

During his absence the splendid episcopal residence was 
destroyed by fire, November 3d, 1859. ^ P^^^ of ^ ^^^w house 
was prepared which should cost $16,000 and occupy a part 
of the ground upon which the present palace stands ; bids 
had been received and the contract was about concluded, 
when the Bishop returned ; but thinking it far too expensive, 
he refused to ratify the contract, and determined to take up 
his residence in such a part of the old building as remained 
intact. A member of the committee, from whom I have re- 
ceived these particulars, then proposed that at least the front 
of the building should be newly faced with brick to give it 
the appearance of a house. To this the Bishop reluctantly 
gave his consent ; and so it remained for sixteen years. 

Three new churches were erected in 1858. 

*' The resignation of the Right Rev. M. O'Connor, of the 
See of Pittsburg, was accepted on the 23d of May, i860, and 
the announcement of the same was received by him on the 
15th of June following."* The moment of separation drew 
near, and unexpectedly to almost all both of the clergy and 
laity he published his valedictory in The Catholic, under date 
of June 1 8th, i860, which was very brief, and stated that ill- 
health, as many knew, had forced this painful measure upon 
him. He was at this time in New York City. Very Rev. 
James O'Connor was named Administrator until the appoint- 
ment of a successor. Meetings of the clergy and others of 
the laity were held, at which suitable addresses were pre- 
pared and forwarded to him July 7th, to which he replied in 
appropriate terms. He sailed for Europe to enter the novi- 
tiate of the Society of Jesus, October 13th. He visited Pitts- 
burg but two or three times afterwards. 

* Diocesan Register. 



8o I^IS ADMINISTRATION, 

We cannot take leave of this illustrious prelate in a more 
fitting manner than by quoting the words of one who was 
long and intimately acquainted with him, and who was 
capable both of appreciating his worth and of expressing it 
in terms suitable to the subject : 

"Any one who understands the resources of the Diocese 
of Pittsburg would find it difficult to comprehend how this 
zealous prelate contrived to accomplish so much for the good 
of religion. A stranger, after examining all that has been 
done — the various charitable and educational establishments 
that have been founded, and the number of churches built — 
would at once conclude that Bishop O'Connor to accomplish 
so much must have had the control of vast means, or must 
have been at the head of a numerous and influential Catholic 
body, possessed of immense wealth and unbounded munifi- 
cence. Yet Bishop O'Connor enjoyed none of these advan- 
tages. The Catholics of the Diocese of Pittsburg, though 
ever ready to extend a generous support to their religion, 
cannot be said to be influential in a numerical or pecuniary 
sense. For sixteen years they have enjoyed the advantages 
of an episcopal administration, all things considered perhaps 
the most brilliant and most successful in the history of the 
American Church. At their head they beheld a prelate, 
young, learned, zealous, and experienced, endowed with a 
creative genius and a rich fertility of resources under 
difficulties, such as fall to the lot of few men. Sublime in his 
conceptions and prompt in his movements, he excited the 
admiration of all no less by the grandeur of his plans than 
by the rapidity of their execution. Conscious of his own 
strength and the justice of his claims on popular support, he 
engaged in enterprises from which common men would have 
recoiled ; and each bold move, as it culminated in success, 
inspired additional confidence in his indomitable energy, and 
served as a base of operations for the inception of something 
else, which, while it tended to bring out in bold relief the 
most popular features of the Church, would minister in the 
most practical v/ay to the increasing wants of the community 
around him. 

" At home, year after year, there arose splendid monu- 



HE ENTERS THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. gi 

merits attesting his industry and energy. Abroad, when 
questions of vast import to the interests of religion came up 
for discussion, so great was his reputation as a writer, lec- 
turer, and theologian that all turned instinctively to Pitts- 
burg for the light of that brilliant intellect that so long 
adorned its see. Accustomed not only to sketch out the out- 
lines, but to supply the minutest details of the various meas- 
ures whrch originated with himself for the advancement of 
religion, the greater part of his administration has been one 
of great mental activity and close application to business, suf- 
ficient to induce premature decay on the most vigorous con- 
stitution. In contemplating the improvements which on all 
sides mark the period over which his episcopate extends, 
Bishop O'Connor must be cheered with the assurance that 
comes from all classes of his fellow-citizens, but especially 
from his own flock, that he has done his duty, his whole duty, 
and done it well." 

Justice requires us to add, with the same writer : " It 
would, however, be neither agreeable to him nor just to them 
to ignore in this brief tribute to his merits the hearty coopera- 
tion he received from a body of priests singularly unselfish 
and proud to emulate the zeal of their great Bishop. En- 
couraged by his counsel and stimulated by his example, they 
have, in the many religious institutions scattered throughout 
the diocese, left on imperishable record a glowing testimony 
of their generous efforts in the cause of religion from 1844 to 
1860.^ 

RT. REV. MICHAEL O'CONNOR, S.J. 

Besides the picture of Bishop O'Connor's life that has 
already been presented to the reader, it remains to sketch the 
close of his career in the illustrious Society of Jesus — the ful- 
filment of the prophetic words of Pope Gregory XVI. 

Having resigned his see, his first care was to put in exe- 
cution the desire which he had long entertained of entering 
the Society of Jesus. He accordingly entered one of the 
houses of the Society in Germany, where he hoped to make 
his novitiate unknown to all save the few to whom a knowl- 

* Reminiscences of the Rev. Thos. M'CuIlagh, by Rev. T. Mullen, pp. 30, 31. 



82 HIS DEATH, 

edge of his former dignity was necessary. But it was hard 
for him to forget good habits, and, to his own humiliation and 
the surprise of all, he once saluted the community after the 
Gloria in the Mass with the Pax vobis of Bishops, instead of 
the Dominus vobiscum of the inferior clergy. By a special dis- 
pensation of the Father General of the Society, he was per- 
mitted to take the customary vows at the end of two years. 
Almost immediately after he returned to the United States, 
and taught theology for some time in the Society's college in 
Boston. " He was then appointed Socius of the Father Pro- 
vincial, and until his death was a preacher, a lecturer, and 
director of spiritual retreats all over the country, from Maine 
to Louisiana ; and out of the country, for he visited Canada 
and at last visited Europe."* He manifested great zeal for 
the poor colored people, and it was through his exertions that 
St. Xavier's Church, Baltimore, was purchased for their ac- 
commodation. 

Another evidence of his humility and desire of remaining 
as much as possible retired from the more attractive scenes 
of life w^as the request he made of the Holy Father when the 
latter accepted his resignation. It is Avell known that when 
a Bishop is permitted to retire from the government of his 
diocese he still possesses the power necessary for adminis- 
tering confirmation, if asked to do so by the Bishop in w^hose 
diocese he may be for the time. Foreseeing that he would 
frequently be called on to administer this sacrament. Dr. 
O'Connor requested the Holy Father to withdraw the faculty 
for exercising that power, which the Pope was pleased to do. 

His health improved after his resignation, but it never at- 
tained its pristine vigor. Age, added to his incessant labors 
and great mental activity, gradually undermined it, and 
forced him at length to retire to Woodstock College, Md., 
where, worn out with laboring in his Master's vineyard, he 
was called to his reward October i8th, 1872, in the sixty -third 
year of his age. His remains were deposited by the side of 
his brethren of the Societvto which his affections ever clung, 
and there reposes all that is mortal of one of ihe most bril- 

* Funeral Discourse of Fr. Clarke, S.J. 




RT. REV. MICHAEL O'CONNOR, 

FIRST BISHOP OF PITTSBURGH. 



CHARACTER OF DR. O'CONNOR. 83 

liant lights that has ever shed its lustre on the Church in the 
United States. 

" Father O'Connor's mind was massive, solid, and deep, 
expanding and embracing within its compass almost every 
department of science and art ; and although we cannot say, 
' Quid tetigit ornavit,' for neither taste nor talent fitted him for 
the graces of diction, .... we may say, ' Nihil tetigit 
quod non solidavit;' for no one who listened to him in conver- 
sation, sermon, or lecture could have failed to observe that, 
whether he treated a subject analytically or synthetically, he 
touched and sounded its every part, and always presented it 
in its greatest strength. And with respect to his style, I think 
I should add that, like his world-renowned countryman 
Edmund Burke, his language became more ornamental and 
eloquent as he advanced in age. Statesmen and lawyers with 
whom he conversed on ecclesiastical subjects regarding which 
they had attempted to legislate, and scholars who chatted with 
him in regard to studies which they had made specialties, 
were astonished at the variety, extent, and accuracy of his 
learning, and were frequently convinced by the clearness and 
the cogency of his reasoning. They found him a giant in in- 
tellect : master of every subject that he handled, whether it 
was the taxation of ecclesiastical property, the school ques- 
tion, or any other subject, a match for any antagonist ; and, 
like a true and valiant knight of the cross, ever ready to dare 
and to do, and, if need had been, to die for his faith. . . . 

" It may be asked why a man of zeal so ardent and of enter- 
prise so constantly crowned with success laid down the bur- 
den of the episcopate and sought the retirement and repose 
of the religious life. I answer, first, that the religious life 
was his first choice. He had petitioned for admission into 
the Society of Jesus before he was consecrated. Secondly, 
declining health and the advice of physicians proved that it 
was highly proper, perhaps absolutely necessary. Thirdly, 
in his resignation and retirement he followed the example of 
some of the greatest saints whom the Church proposes not 
only for our admiration but for our imitation."* 

* Funeral Discourse of Fr. Clarke, S.J. 



84 PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 

Together with his other acquirements, Dr. O'Connor was 
also a linguist of considerable note. Besides the English lan- 
guage, he was familiar with the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, 
among the dead, and with the Irish, French, German, Italian, 
and Spanish, among the living tongues. 

In stature Dr. O'Connor was sHghtly above the medium 
height, rather heavy than slender, but not adipose ; of an erect 
and commanding figure, but without affectation or assumption 
of dignity. On the contrary, he was indifferent of his dress 
and appearance to a degree bordering on carelessness. But 
notwithstanding this he could not if he wished conceal his 
innate superiority, and we may say with the poet : 

" His grandeur he derived from heaven alone, 
For he was great ere Fortune made him so." 

Dr. O'Connor left no writings beyond a few published lec- 
tures and his contributions to The Catholic and perhaps to 
some other periodicals. His life was too active to permit the 
leisure necessary to commit his thoughts to writing. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL FROM 1860 TO 1 873. 

Statistics of the Diocese — Appointment and consecration of Rt. Rev. Michael 
Domenec — Biographical notice — He visits Rome and Madrid — Rev. J, Hickey 
rector of the Cathedral — Father M'Mahon retires to Philadelphia — The new 
organ — The Bishop again visits Rome — The towers built — Conseciation of 
Bishop Mullen, of Erie — -The Golden Age of Pittsburg — The Bishop again 
visits Rome to attend the Vatican Council — Death of Dr. Keogh, and bio- 
graphical notice — Sisters of Charity and Ursuline Nuns — Death of Rev. D. 
Devlin — Little Sisters of the Poor — Sisters of the Good Shepherd — The Cath- 
olic Institute. 

Before attempting to trace the history of the diocese 
under the administration of its second Bishop, it is proper 
to cast a retrospective glance at the condition of the Church 
over which he was called to rule. When Bishop O'Connor 
was forced by declining health to resign his see, the statis- 
tics of the diocese were as follows : Seventy-seven churches, 
eighty-six priests, thirty clerical students, four male and two 
female religious orders, one seminary, three male and two 
female institutions of learning, two orphan asylums, one hos- 
pital, and a Catholic population of more than 50,000. 

The first intelligence that reached Pittsburg of the aj> 
pointment of a successor to the late Bishop was a report that 
a consistory had been held on the 28th of September, i860, in 
which Rev. Michael Domenec, pastor of St. Vincent of Paul's 
Church, Germantown, Pa., had been promoted to the vacant 
see. The report proved to be correct, and the appointment 
was officially announced in The Catholic of November 24th. 
The Bishop-elect arrived in the city early in December, and 
fixed the 9th of the same month as the day of his consecra- 
tion. The ceremony took place in the cathedral, and was 
attended with unusual pomp. Most Rev. F. P. Kenrick, 
Archbishop of Baltimore, was consecrating prelate. The ser- 



86 RT. REV. MICHAEL DOMENEC. 

mon was preached by Rt. Rev. J. Timon, of Buffalo. And 
here it is proper to pause and give a brief sketch of the early 
life of the newly consecrated prelate. 

Rt. Rev. Michael Domenec was born of wealthy pa- 
rents in the city of Ruez, near Tarragona, in the north-east 
of Spain, in 1816. His early education was acquired in the 
schools of Madrid ; but owing to the disturbances occasioned 
by the Carlist war, he was obliged at the age of fifteen to re- 
tire to France. He entered a college in the southern part of 
that country, and some time later came to Paris, where he en- 
tered the seminary of the Lazarists, and soon after joined their 
congregation. He sailed from France in company with Very 
Rev. John Timon, Visitor-General of the congregation in the 
United States, on the 15th of October, 1837, and arrived at 
the Barrens in Missouri on the loth of the following Febru- 
ary.^ After remaining here and pursuing his studies, espe- 
cially the study of the English language, he was raised to 
the sacred dignity of the priesthood, June 29th, 1839. ^^ 
the following year he was sent with two other fathers of the 
congregation to Cape Girardeau, where he built a college, 
and in 1842 he returned to the seminary at the Barrens.f 
Not satisfied, however, with his duties as professor, he also 
labored on the mission in the wilds of Missouri until the 
year 1845, when he was sent in company with other fathers 
of the congregation to take charge of the diocesan seminary 
at Philadelphia. He was at the same time pastor of the 
little congregation at Nicetown, and afterwards of that at 
Germantown. Here he erected a handsome church, and 
took up his residence; and it was from here that he was 
called to rule the Diocese of Pittsburg. 

The diocese had been so thoroughly organized by Bishop 
O'Connor that little was left to his successor beyond paying 
off a considerable debt still due on the cathedral, and provid- 
ing for the wants of an increasing Cathohc population. The 
zeal and energy which he manifested in the administration of 
the diocese was not long in bearing its fruits, as the sequel 

* Life of Bishop Timon, pp. 62, 64. 

\ Life of Very Rev. Felix De Andreis, pp. 267 and 268. In this work his name 
is invariably spelled Domenech. 



THE BISHOP VISITS EUROPE. 



87 



will amply testify. In 1861 he dedicated two new churches 
and another that had been enlarged. 

At the invitation of the Holy Father he crossed the Atlan- 
tic on his first visit to Rome, sailing- April 21st, 1862, to be 
present at the canonization of the Japanese Martyrs, and leav- 
ing Very Rev. E. M'Mahon Administrator. The Rebellion 
was then at its height, and it is said that the Bishop accepted 
a mission from the Government of the United States to that 
of Spain, which kingdom it was feared was about to recog- 
nize the Southern Confederacy. He visited Madrid, where 
he had several audiences with the queen and her ministers. 
Archbishop Hughes, at whose instance this important mission 
was entrusted to him, is reported to have said that " Bishop 
Domenec, of all those who had been sent by the Government 
of the United States to arrange these matters, is the only one 
who had ever really succeeded in his mission." This was cer- 
tainly a high compliment when the delicate and perplexing 
nature of the negotiation is taken into account.* He returned 
to Pittsburg on the i6th of September. 

During this year three new churches were built or en- 
larged. The demand for iron created by the war began also 
to be favorably felt in Pittsburg. 

On the 6th of January, 1863, Rev. John Hickey, till then 
■assistant at St. Patrick's Church and professor for a time at 
the diocesan seminary, was appointed rector of the cathe- 
dral in the place of Very Rev. E. M'Mahon, who had filled 
that important post in a very able manner for about thirteen 
years. Soon after this time Rev. T. Mullen, of Allegheny 
City, succeeded Father M'Mahon as Vicar-General of the 
diocese. The latter then retired to Philadelphia, where he 
was immediately appointed pastor of one of the leading con- 
gregations of that city. His departure was a serious loss to 
the Diocese of Pittsburg ; for besides being a man of mature 
age and vast experience, he was eminently fitted for the trans- 
action of business. Towards the close of the same year Very 
Rev. James O'Connor was succeeded by Dr. Keogh as presi- 
dent of the seminary. He too retired to Philadelphia, and 

* The Biographical Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania for the Nineteenth Century, 
Art. M. Domenec. 



88 COMPLETION OF THE CATHEDRAL. 

was appointed to an honorable position. They were joined 
in 1865 by Dr. Keogh, and Pittsburg lost three of its most 
learned and valuable priests. 

Ten churches were built or enlarged in different parts of 
the diocese in 1863 and '4. 

In November, 1865, a public Catholic library and reading- 
room were opened principally through the exertions^ of 
Father Mullen. The Sisters of St. Francis also entered the 
diocese, and soon after opened a hospital ; and two new 
churches were dedicated. 

The small organ in the cathedral was replaced by a very 
large and powerful instrument in 1866, which at the time of 
its erection was, with few exceptions, the largest in the coun- 
try. In the same year the Franciscan Brothers retired from 
Pittsburg, and the boys' school passed into the hands of the 
Sisters of Merc}^, by whom it is still taught. 

Five new or enlarged churches were also added to those 
already in the diocese, and eight in the following year. 

On the 20th of May, 1867, Bishop Domenec again set out 
for Rome, to be present at the canonization of certain saints 
and the celebration of the centenary of the martyrdom of St. 
Peter. He returned September 27th of the same year. 

About this time Father Hickey directed his attention to 
the erection of the two front towers of the cathedral At the 
time the sacred edifice was built one of these had been raised 
to the level of the roof, but nothing had been done on the 
other. In 1868 he finished one of them, and in the following 
year the other. They are built of brick, with cut-stone trim- 
mings, and rise to the extraordinary height of 282 and 285 
feet respectively. Their fine proportions excite the admira- 
tion of all who see them. In the cross of the tower, at the 
left front corner, is a cross of gas-jets which is lighted on the 
eves of certain feasts by means of electricity, and may be seen 
at a great distance. 

That portion of the cathedral congregation lying in the 
vicinity of Oakland and Soho was detached in April, 1868, to 
form the parish of St. Agnes. The Point was also cut off in 
November, to form the congregation of St. Mary of Consola- 
tion, now St. Mary of Mercy. But the most important event 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF PITTSBURG. 89 

of the year was the promotion of Very Rev. Tobias Mullen, 
of St. Peter's Church, Allegheny, to the vacant See of Erie. 
He was consecrated with imposing ceremony by Bishop 
Domenec in the Cathedral of Pittsburg, August 2d, 1868, in 
presence of a large number of prelates and of the inferior 
clergy, Rev. S. Wall, of the seminary, preaching the sermon. 
On the 30th of March, 1869, the rector of the cathedral was 
appointed Vicar-General of the diocese, and Rev. J. Tuigg, 
of Altoona, Vicar-Forane for the mountain district. 

During the same year five new or enlarged churches 
marked the increase of the Cathohc population. The years 
that followed the close of the Rebellion until the financial 
crisis of the fall of 1873 were the season of the greatest pros- 
perity for Pittsburg. Work was abundant in the mines and 
manufactories, wages were high, and, although building lots 
commanded a fair price, houses were erected in large num- 
bers, the limits of the city were extended, and the population 
increased rapidly. The laboring population, which is largely 
composed of natives of Ireland and Germany, swelled the 
city congregations especially, and forced their pastor to en- 
large existing churches and form new parishes. It was the 
Golden Age in the history of Pittsburg. Men became infatu- 
ated with their prosperity, and precipitated the crisis that so 
sadly changed the face of things. The Church, tasting of the 
material prosperity, also caught the infatuation to some ex- 
tent, and in a few instances brought upon herself embarrass- 
ments from which she will not be free until after many 
years of the most rigid economy. Nor need we wonder at 
this ; for if men were deceived who had made financiering the 
business of their lives, much more might those be misled 
whose business it is to lay up and teach others to lay up their 
treasures rather in heaven than upon earth. The priest, like 
every one else, occupies a position that requires certam neces- 
sary qualifications ; and it is a misfortune that in a country 
like ours where the Church is being built up, the collection 
and disbursement of money, or financiering, as it is called, 
should be among these qualifications. But it is taking a very 
erroneous, not to say, more truly, a very degrading, view of 
the sacred ministry to estimate a priest's worth and character 



go DEATH OF REV. JAMES KEOGH, D.D. 

by his ability to raise money and pay it out to advantage. 
His mission is of an infinitely higher order ; and, provided he 
makes a proper use of the talent which God has given him, it 
is no reproach that he whom St. Paul calls a " man of God " 
should be but an indifferent man of the world. It is pitiable 
enough for worldlings to worship the golden calf ; but it is an 
abomination to give it a place in the sanctuary. 

When the organ and the towers of St. Paul's were complet- 
ed the magnificent edifice stood forth in all the grandeur of 
Bishop O'Connor's conception of it, and but for the dust that 
slumbered on every part it would have been one of the most 
splendid monuments of the faith and generosity of American 
and Irish Catholics in this country. It was found necessary 
to take down the central tower, which was of wood and too 
frail to be considered safe, and with it was taken away a part 
of the brick-work. The dome was then covered with an iron 
imitation of a dome, which, however useful it may be, can 
hardly be regarded as ornamental. But though finished, St. 
Paul's was burdened with considerable debt, and it is a matter 
of debate whether it would not have been better to have de- 
ferred its completion for a time. 

In September, 1869, that portion of the cathedral congre- 
gation lying south of the Monongahela River was formed 
into a separate parish under the patronage of St. Malachy. 
Soon after this date, October i8th, the Bishop set out for 
Rome, to be present at the Vatican Council, and he did not 
return till after the close of its sessions. In the mean time 
Father Hickey was administrator of the diocese. In the same 
year seven churches were either built or enlarged. 

Among the events of the following year was the death of 
Rev. James Keogh, D.D., a man upon whom Providence had 
bestowed the most extraordinary gifts. His death took place 
on the loth of July, 1870, at Our Lady of Victories, East 
Liberty. The following sketch will afford an idea, necessarily 
imperfect, of his uncommon endowments. 

Rev. James Keogh, D.D., a man who for mental endow- 
ments has had few equals and no superior in the Church in 
this country, was the son of Mr. Martin Keogh, and was born 
at Enniscorthy, in county of Wexford, February 4th, 1834. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. KEOGH. 91 

He came to this country with his parents in 1841, and made 
his home for a short time in Cleveland. But they soon after 
came to Pittsburg, where young James, a prodigy even in 
childhood, attracted the attention of Bishop O'Connor. He 
was afforded all the facilities of education which the limited 
resources of Pittsburg placed within his reach, and at twelve 
years of age entered the preparatory department of St. 
Michael's Seminary. But so brilliant were his talents and so 
exemplary his conduct that the Bishop determined to send 
him to Rome, where he should have opportunities in keeping 
with his natural ability. He set out for the Holy City at the 
age of sixteen, and on arriving entered the College of the 
Propaganda. No better evidence of his extraordinary talent 
and the use he made of it could be given than the defence in 
Philosophy which he made on the 2 1 st of August, 1 8 5 1 , when he 
had been in the college little more than a year and a half, and 
when he was but seventeen and a half years of age. Comment- 
ing upon this defence. The Catholic says : " He sustained nobly 
one hundred and twenty propositions from the whole course 
of Philosophy and embracing the most important points of 
Logic, Ideology, Natural Theology, Psychology, Cosmology, 
as well as Ethics, general and particular. Professors from 
the Roman College, the Roman Seminary, and the Ecclesias- 
tical Academy, and others, entered the lists against him. He 
acquitted himself most honorably, as we may learn from the 
fact that he received by the unanimous vote of the faculty 
the highest degree of the college in that department and a 
splendid gold medal into the bargain, and he whom many 
of our readers remember as a little fair-haired boy who used 
to serve Mass so well in St. Paul's Cathedral is now, though 
not yet eighteen. Doctor of Philosophy in the Propaganda at 
Rome." 

But however brilliant his defence may have been on this 
occasion, it was eclipsed by that in Theology, which occurred 
on the 19th of November, 1855. This was the most remark- 
able that had taken place in the Propaganda since that of the 
late Cardinal Cullen, in 1828. The Civilta CattoUca, the lead- 
ing Cathohc paper of the world, in an article translated by 
The Cincinnati Catholic Telegraphy after complimenting the 



92 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF .DR. KEOGH. 



Propaganda, according to the Roman style, on its prosperity, 
continues : 

" On the 19th of November we witnessed a proof of this 
prosperity in a public Defence of Theses selected from His- 
tory and Dogmatic Theology, by James Keogh, of Pittsburg, 
in the United States of America. The theses themselves are 
a proof of the high grade of studies in the college ; the answers 
of the youthful defendant showed an extraordinary talent, and 
were evidence of energetic and persevering study of his sub- 
ject ; and the noble assemblage of the most learned and digni- 
fied personages of Rome shows the interest felt by all ranks in 
this well-conducted institution. 

"Of the 317 theses, 103 were from Ecclesiastical History, 
the remaining 214 from Dogmatic Theology. 

" The Historical theses involve the great controverted 
points of history regarding the authority of the Holy See, 
questions of the simple or dogmatic facts ; and they show, be- 
sides a wide comprehension of an immense subject, the depth 
and solidity of the study of history. The Dogmatic proposi- 
tions are divided into five parts — 'Of God and his Attributes, 
Of the Divine Trinity, Of the Chief Prophecies concerning 
the Messiah, Of the Incarnation of the Son of God, Of the 
Sacraments of the New Law' — and evince correct apprehension, 
a sound judgment, and vast knowledge of Theological science. 
This, however, is the merit of the Faculty of the Urban Col- 
lege. The merit of the young student (but twenty-one years 
of age) consists in his great advancement in these studies. 
In the Exhibition of the 19th, both morning and evening, 
he showed himself able to catch at once the most difficult 
objection, to grapple with it, and not only to solve it but 
make it a text for a brief but conclusive confirmation of his 
thesis. Some of the most learned and dignified persons in 
Rome, some by invitation, some by choice, entered the lists 
with the youthful champion, and were deHghted with the 
readiness, the clearness, the profoundness shown in his an- 
swers to the well-proposed objections. 

" As to the assemblage that gave such ^clat to this exhibi- 
tion, it is enough for us to say that rarely even in Rom.e, 
where they are wont to be conducted with the greatest splen- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. KEOGH. 93 

dor, have we witnessed one accompanied with such magnifi- 
cence as this. For besides the very great number of the most 
learned and eminent Romans who were present, His Holiness 
Pope Pius IX. was pleased not only to accept the dedication 
of the public act made to himself, but also to honor it by his 
presence in the afternoon." 

Besides the degree of Doctor of Divinity, Mr. Keogh re- 
ceived a large gold medal " for his talent and promptness, his 
extensive information and powerful reasoning," which was 
approved, as the programme of the exercises says, " by the 
Holy Father himself." 

As yet he was too young to be ordained even by ordinary 
dispensation, and he was obliged to wait until the 5th of the 
following August. He was then raised to the sacred dignity 
of the priesthood by Cardinal Patrizi. He soon after set out 
for America, stopping in Ireland on his way, and arrived in 
November. He was assigned the chaplaincy of St. Xavier's 
Academy, Westmoreland County, and with it the care of the 
rising congregation at Latrobe, where he finished the church 
then in course of erection. Having remained there until Oc- 
tober, 1857, he was transferred to the diocesan seminary then 
opened at Glenwood. Here he filled the chair of Dogmatic 
Theology and of several other branches, and was vice-presi- 
dent of the institution, and those who had the privilege of at- 
tending his classes can bear witness to his ability as a pro- 
fessor. In October, 1863, he succeeded Very Rev. James 
O'Connor as president ; but from about this time his health 
began to decline, and at different times his life was believed 
to be in danger. He was also editor of The Catholic, a posi- 
tion which he resigned on the 7th of September, 1864. 

At length in the following summer he withdrew to the 
Diocese of Philadelphia, whither Very Revs. E. M'Mahon and 
Jas. O'Connor had preceded him. His health improved, and 
He was appointed to the professorship of Dogmatic Theology, 
Hebrew, Sacred Scripture, and Rubrics in the Seminary of 
St. Charles Borromeo. When the Second Plenary Council 
opened at Baltimore, in October, 1866, he was appointed one 
of the secretaries, and his extensive learning was brought into 
requisition. When the (Philadelphia) Catholic Standard was 



94 DEATH OF REV. D. DEVLIN, 

first published, in the same year, he became editor, and he 
continued to fill the chair until 1868, when, his health continu- 
ing to dechne, his physician required him to retire for a time 
from his active duties and seek repose in the country. He 
returned to the Diocese of Pittsburg, where so many of his 
friends and former pupils were laboring on the mission ; and 
retired to St. Augustine's Church, Cambria County, where in 
quiet, and as his health permitted, he assisted the pastor, Rev. 
Ed. Burns. He also contributed a number of articles to the 
Catholic World, among others, as he informed me, that on " The 
Council of Trent" (October, 1869) and that on " The Greek 
Schism" (March, 1870). Besides these he has left no writings 
except a few printed lectures. 

But the hopes that had been entertained of the re-establish- 
ment of his health were doomed to disappointment. At 
times he appeared to rally, but he was in reality declining. 
Feeling that his end was drawing near, he came to Pittsburg 
about the end of June, 1870, and stopped at the house of the 
Oblates of St. Charles Borromeo, in East Liberty. Here he 
terminated his career by a most edifying death on the loth of 
July, in the 37th year of his age. His funeral took place from 
St. Mary's Church, Forty-sixth Street, and his remains were 
laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery. 

In the words of the Catholic Standard, " Dr. Keogh was a 
thorough scholar, an accomplished gentleman, a great linguist. 
In society he was genial, and as a conversationalist he was 
without a superior, so great and varied was the store of his 
knowledge." It may be remarked, however, that he was 
better fitted both by nature and inclination for the chair of a 
professor than for the administration of the public affairs of 
the Church. 

During the year 1870 six new churches were built, and 
the Sisters of Charity opened a convent in Altoona. In Janu- 
ary of the following year a colony of French Ursuline Nuns 
established themselves in Pittsburg, and opened a young ladies' 
academy. 

On the 28th of November Rev. Daniel Devlin, one of the 
assistant priests of the Cathedral, died somewhat suddenly at 



RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS. 9^ 

the residence of his parents, a few miles south of Pittsburg, in 
the 34th year of his age. 

Rev. Daniel Devlin was born near Pittsburg; but his 
parents had emigrated a short time before from a place near 
Coleraine, in county Tyrone, Ireland. At the age of fourteen 
he was sent to the academy of the Franciscan Brothers at Lo- 
retto, and after remaining there for a time he was sent to 
another institution to pursue his course of theology. He 
then entered the Benedictine Order at St. Vincent's Abbey. 
As a member of that body he labored on the mission in differ- 
ent parts of Canada. Returning to the United States, he 
joined the ranks of the secular clergy and labored on various 
missions. The last years of his life, when his health was 
declining, were spent at the Cathedral. He was remarkable 
for the simplicity of his character and his gentleness of man- 
ner. His remains repose in St. Mary's Cemetery. 

Ten churches were built or enlarged during the course of 
1 87 1, and the Catholic population, especially in the cities, was 
rapidly increasing and enjoying a high degree of temporal 
prosperity. 

In April, 1872, a colony of Little Sisters of the Poor arrived 
in Pittsburg and opened a home for the aged ; and in October 
of the same year the Sisters of the Good Shepherd also came 
and founded a Magdelene asylum. The CathoHc Institute, a 
day college, was opened this year, and gave fair promise of a 
prosperous career. This year was also destined to surpass all 
previous and subsequent years in the number of churches 
built and enlarged. Eleven were dedicated during its course. 
But from this time forward a marked decline will be per- 
ceived, which results from the financial panic of 1873. 



CHAPTER VIL 

HISTORY OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL FROM 1 8/3 TO THE 
PRESENT TIME. 

The new episcopal residence — Death of Father M'Mahon, with sketch of his life — 
The Italians — The Bishop visits Rome — Division of the diocese — Statistics 
— Consecration of Rt. Rev. John Tuigg, with sketch of his life — State of 
the diocese — The Cathedral on fire — Death of Rev. Patrick Cassidy, with 
sketch of his life — Bishop Domenec visits Rome — Resigns his see — Returns 
to Spain — His death — Closing scenes of his life — Reunion of the two dioceses 
— Improvement of the Cathedral. 

After the burning of the episcopal residence in the fall 
of 1859, the committee of the Cathedral proposed to erect a 
new building at a cost of $16,000 ; and with the consent of the 
rector plans were prepared, subject to the approval of the 
Bishop, who was then absent. But upon his return, he 
deemed it too expensive for the times, and instead of a new 
residence contented himself with that part of the old that had 
been spared by the flames. In this small and uncomfortable 
home the Bishop and the clergy attached to the Cathedral 
had since resided. But the time, it was thought, had come 
for improving their condition ; and in the summer of 1872 
plans were prepared on a grand scale, as the present edifice 
amply testifies, and work was commenced on the foundation. 
Scarcely, however, w^as the first stone laid when the panic 
came, and business was prostrated and public confidence at an 
end perhaps for years. Nothing daunted, and notwithstanding 
the debt already on the Cathedral and the orphan asylum, the 
work was pushed forward, and gradually the immense edifice, 
a real palace, commanded the admiration of all who saw it. 
It was completed and occupied about the middle of Decem- 
ber, 1875. The cost is said to have been $92,000; but it is 
thought to nave been considerably more, for even at the pres- 



DEATH OF VERY REV. EDWARD M'MAffOJV. 97 

ent day the debt due upon it exceeds that sum. The build- 
ing is ninety feet front by one hundred and ten feet deep, and 
three stories high besides the basement and finished attic ; 
and it is trimmed with Massillon stone elegantly dressed. 
But it is much larger than the wants of the parish will ever 
demand. 

About the year 1873 serious apprehensions were enter- 
tained for the safety of the Cathedral from the movement that 
was agitated for a time for cutting down the streets in that 
part of the city. But the proposition was finally abandoned, 
and it is not likely that it will again be mooted. 

On the 7th of October of the same year, Very Rev. E. 
M'Mahon, who had for so many years been identified with the 
history of the Cathedral and the diocese, died in Philadelphia 
in the 74th year of his age. 

Very Rev. Edward M'Mahon " was born in Milltown, a 
suburb of Dublin, in 1800. He made his studies and was 
ordained subdeacon in that city, but feeling himself called to 
labor for the salvation of souls in a foreign mission, he asked 
and obtained an exeat from his Ordinary, the most Rev. Dr. 
Murray, in 1824, with permission to become the subject of 
Bishop Flaget, of Bardstown, Kentucky, or of any other 
Bishop in the United States. He was ordained priest by 
Bishop Flaget July 3d, 1825. So high was the estimate 
formed of his piety and ability by this saintly prelate that, 
only a few months after his ordination, he appointed him 
superior of the Preparatory Seminary of St. Thomas, to 
which a small college was then attached." In 1830 he was 
appointed vice-rector of St. Mary's College. A year later he 
was appointed pastor of Scott County, which had several 
missions attached to it ; and he may be said to have been the 
founder of all the most flourishing missions in the present 
Diocese of Covington. But we cannot detail his labors in 
Kentucky. In 1841 he visited his native land. Five years 
later he became president of St. Joseph's College, Ky., in 
which he soon restored order out of chaos. Soon after the 
Bishop gave the college to the Jesuits, and he came to the 
Diocese of Pittsburg. Here he was placed at Hollidaysburg, 
in the winter of i8aq, for a short time, and thence transferred 



gS THE ITALIANS. 

to St. Peter's Church, Allegheny City, which he finished. In 
1850 he became pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral, and soon after 
Vicar-General of the diocese. We have seen his labors here 
in the cause of religion. On retiring to Philadelphia he was 
appointed pastor of St. Edward's Church, where he passed 
the closing years of his long and eminently useful life. - 

About the time of the opening of the Catholic Institute, 
Rev. Jas. M'Tighe, who was president and at the same time 
professor in St. Michael's Seminar}', made an attempt to form 
the Italians of the city into a congregation. Being a student 
of the Propaganda and master of the Italian language, he felt 
that he should attempt to better the spiritual condition of the 
Italian Catholics, of whom there are perhaps one hundred 
and fifty families, living principally in the vicinity of the 
Cathedral, all of whom are very poor. But after a few 
months he was appointed to a parish a considerable distance 
from the city, and the Italians have since been left as they 
were before without any spiritual guide, although there is 
ahvaj's a priest at the Cathedral acquainted with their lan- 
guage. 

During the summer of 1874 the splendid stained-glass 
window over the entrance of the Cathedral was put in, at a 
cost of about S2000 ; and in 1876 that in the transept facing 
on Fifth Avenue was put in, at a cost of about $2500. In 1874 
the Capuchin Fathers entered the diocese. Three churches 
only were built or enlarged in 1873, and five in the following 
year. 

On the 5th of November, 1875, the Bishop set out on a visit to 
Rome, leaving Father Hickey Administrator. The object of 
his visit was not known ; and hence when, in January, 1876, it 
was announced that the diocese had been divided and a new 
one formed, with Allegheny Cit}" as its see, people were taken 
by surprise and found it difficult to credit the report. But 
further intelligence confirmed it. The Diocese of Pittsburg 
was divided, and Bishop Domenec was transferred to the new 
See of Allegheny, the bulls for both the division and the 



* Compiled principally from "A Sermon by Ver}' Rev. James O'Connor, D.D. 
preached at the Month's Mind." 



DIVISION OF THE DIOCESE. gg 

transfer being dated January nth, 1876. Many persons had 
expected that a division would take place in time, but that 
the panic would have the effect of deferring it for a few years. 
But in the event of it transpiring, Altoona, it was thought, 
would be the new see. By bulls dated January i6th, Very 
Rev. John Tuigg, of Altoona, was elevated to the vacant See 
of Pittsburg. The dividing line between the sees of Pitts- 
burg and Allegheny started at the southern boundary of the 
State between Bedford and Somerset counties, and passed 
north till it reached Cambria, and thence west to Westmore- 
land. Passing along the eastern, southern, and western 
boundary of this county, it struck the Allegheny River, and 
passed down that stream and the Ohio to the western limits 
of Allegheny City. From that point it struck due north 
through Allegheny County to the southern boundary of 
Butler, and continued west and north to the line dividing 
Lawrence and Mercer counties. It then followed that line 
to the western boundary of the State. Thus the new diocese 
had eight counties, with about one fourth of Allegheny, or an 
area of about 6530 square miles ; leaving the parent diocese 
six counties and about three fourths of Allegheny, with an 
area of about 4784 square miles. 

The following were the principal statistics of the diocese 
at the time of the division, as given in the Catholic Directory for 
1876. (During the year 1875 eleven churches had been built 
or enlarged.) Priests, secular and religious, 160; churches, 
115; chapels, 15; male religious orders, 7; female religious 
orders, 12; parish schools, 70; educational institutions, 10; 
academies, 10; diocesan seminary; Sisters of Mercy, 178; of 
Charity, 22; of St. Joseph, 17; Benedictine Nuns, 40; Ursu- 
lines, 17; Sisters of Notre Dame, 25; number of children 
attending parochial schools, about 17,000; asylums, 4; hospi- 
tals, 2 ; and a Catholic population of about 200,000. Many are 
of opinion, however, that the population of the diocese was 
estimated at too high a figure, and this opinion is strengthened 
by a comparison of the percentage of increase in the Catholic 
and in the general population of that part of the State em- 
braced within the limits of the diocese during the previous 
fifteen years. It is further confirmed from the fact that 



/oo CONSECRATION OF RT. REV. J. TUIGG. 

although in the division of the diocese the population appeared 
to be about equally divided between the two sees, yet when 
the newly consecrated Bishop Tuigg had the census of his 
diocese taken in May, 1876, it reached only 56,800. Although 
this was most probably an underestimate, yet it could not 
have fallen more than 10,000, if indeed so much, below the 
actual number. I am of opinion that it would have been a 
very fair estimate of the numerical strength of the Catholics 
in the diocese to have placed it at about 135,000. And al- 
though this statement may appear to savor of temerity in the 
presence of figures published, yet it is certain that the popu- 
lation of a large number of the congregations was only approxi- 
mated for that report. I may further state that in every 
instance, with perhaps no more than three or four exceptions, 
I have found the population of congregations far less than 
it was generally supposed to be, and sometimes not half so 
much. Since the division of the diocese the population, al- 
though not increasing as rapidly as before the panic, has yet 
been adding slowly to its numbers, and it will reach at the 
present time, I am of opinion, about 140,000. 

The division was not well received, particularly by those 
of the parent diocese ; and more especially as the diocesan in- 
stitutions were left heavily in debt, while their resources were 
greatly diminished. All the churches, with one or two excep- 
tions, that were involved in debt were on the same side, while 
the educational institutions were in the new diocese, with the 
exception of the diocesan seminary, an institution that could 
not long survive the division, and the Ursuline Academy. 

The 19th of March, Feast of St. Joseph, which that year 
fell on Sunday, was the day fixed for the solemn ceremony of 
the consecration of the Bishop-elect. All the ceremonies were 
in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion. Archbishop 
Wood, of Philadelphia, was the consecrating prelate ; Rt. Rev. 
J. F. Shanahan, of Harrisburg, preached the sermon ; and 
Very Rev. J. Hickey read the papal bulls. There were pres- 
ent, besides these, Bishops Mullen, of Erie ; O'Hara, of Scran- 
ton ; Domenec, of Allegheny ; and Abbot Wimmer, of St. 
Vincent's, with Very Rev. F. M. Boff, Administrator of 
Cleveland, and about one hundred of the inferior clergy. In 



THE CATHEDRAL ON FIRE. lOi 

the evening many of those present at the ceremonies of the 
morning went to St. Peter's pro-Cathedral, Allegheny, to 
witness the installation of Bishop Domenec. The installation 
was attended with all the ceremonies prescribed by the 
ritual ; and a new Bishop and a new see were added to the 
Church in America. 

It is proper before proceeding further to say a few words 
regarding the new Bishop of Pittsburg. Any lengthy remarks 
would be out of place. Rt. Rev. John Tuigg, D.D., is a native 
of county Cork, Ireland, where he was born in the year 1820. 
Having pursued his studies for some time in All-Hallows 
Missionary College, he came to this country and entered St. 
Michael's Seminary, Pittsburg. Upon the completion of his 
course of Theology he was ordained by Bishop O'Connor on 
the 14th of May, 1850, and placed at the Cathedral as an assist- 
ant. Here he remained, sharing with the other priests in 
the arduous duties of that large congregation and acting as 
secretary to the Bishop. About the beginning of 1853 he was 
assigned the duty of organizing St. Bridget's congregation 
and building the church, although remaining at the same time 
at the Bishop's residence. When the church was well under 
way he was assigned the more important mission of Altoona, 
in July of the same year. His labors there in the cause of 
religion, the success that attended them, and the monuments 
that he has left to bear witness to his energy and zeal, will 
be seen at length in their proper place. 

Immediately after his consecration he set vigorously about 
the affairs of his exalted position, and after expending much 
time and toil became fully acquainted with the difficulties by 
which he was surrounded. 

On the morning of June 2d, 1877, the Cathedral accidentally 
took fire, and had it not been for the heavy wall of the tran- 
sept, between the body of the church and the sacristy, where 
the fire originated, it would probably have been destroyed. 
As it was the damage amounted to about $3000. 

In the latter part of the summer of the same year Rev, 
Patrick Cassidy, a priest of the diocese, died in Ireland, in the 
27th year of his age. 

Rev. Patrick Cassidy was a native of county Derry, 



I02 DEATH OF REV. P. CASSIDY. 

Ireland. At an early age he felt an attraction for the sanc- 
tuary, and began those studies that should fit him for enter- 
ing the ranks of the sacred ministry. He came to America 
early in the summer of 1866, and soon after entered the 
seminary at Pittsburg. Having finished his studies, he was 
ordained on the 20th of December, 1873, and placed at the 
Cathedral. But in the following January he was appointed 
chaplain of St. Paul's Orphan Asylum, Avhere he remained 
until the autumn of the same year, when declining health 
forced him to retire from the city and seek the purer country 
air. He took charge of the little congregation at Cameron 
Bottom, where he remained a year. But his health was being 
slowly undermined by consumption, and he returned to the 
cathedral, where he performed such duties as his health per- 
mitted, or reposed from labor. Seeing that there was no 
hope of his recovery in this country, he determined to cross 
over to his native land, and accordingly set sail on the 
2oth of July. But scarcely had he reached the home of his 
childhood when his brief career in the sacred ministry was 
run, and God called him to his reward. 

When the Bishop of Allegheny withdrew his students 
from the diocesan seminary it was found impossible to con- 
tinue it, and it was closed at the end of December, 1876. 
During this year but two churches were dedicated in the 
Diocese of Pittsburg, both of which had been purchased 
from the Protestants ; and one in that of Allegheny. 

In January, 1877, Revs. J. Holland and F. Kittell v/ere 
despatched to Rome in the interest of the Diocese of Pitts- 
burg ; and in April Bishop Domenec also crossed over, leav- 
ing Very Rev. R. Phelan Administrator during his absence. 
But he never returned to America. Having devoted almost 
seventeen years of incessant labor to the welfare of religion 
in the most exalted, as it is the most onerous, position that 
man can occupy in this world, and having everywhere left 
monuments of his zeal and devotedness to the flock over 
which he had been called by the voice of Christ's vicar to 
preside, he resigned the See of Allegheny on the 29th of July, 
1877, ^^<^ retired soon after to his native land. It Avas his 
intention, it appears, to return to America, and various reports 




RT. REV. MICHAEL DOMENEC, 

SECOND BISHOP OF PITTSBURG AND FIRST BISHOP OF ALLEGHENY. 



DEATH OF BISHOP DO ME NEC. 103 

were circulated regarding exalted positions in the Church in 
this country which had been offered to him ; but upon this 
point we have no certain information. While his friends in 
America were daily expecting to hear of his return, they 
were suddenly cast into deepest sorrow by the news of his 
death from pneumonia putrida, on the 7th of January, 1878. 
Nothing could have been more unexpected ; for although in 
the sixty-second year of his age, he yet appeared in the prime 
of life, and was remarkable for his extraordinary power of 
endurance. He seemed a stranger to fatigue, and never ap- 
peared in his proper element except when laboring to pro- 
mote the interests of religion. In every part of the diocese 
he has left imperishable monuments of his zeal in the cause of 
religion ; and if we were disposed to pass an opinion we 
should say that he was too kind-hearted, and shrank from 
doing or saying anything that might cause another pain. In 
reply to a letter of inquiry from the Pittsburg Evening Leader 
the Hon. Frederick H. Schenck, American consul at Barce- 
lona, in Spain, wrote as follows regarding the closing scenes 
in the life of Bishop Domenec : 

*' The late Mr. Domenec came to Barcelona in the early 
part of the fall, and remained for several months, preaching in 
the different Catholic churches twice every week and many 
times oftener ; and, being considered by the public in general 
a very fine speaker, and beloved by all who knew him per- 
sonally, the churches were on all occasions overcrowded. He 
left Barcelona for his native city. Reus, about five miles from 
Tarragona, to once more visit the places of his youth before 
returning to the United States, on the 30th of December last ; 
but on his arrival in Tarragona he took very suddenly sick, 
and was taken to the House of the Beneficence against the 
wishes of the Archbishop of Tarragona, who offered him his 
own residence. Failing very rapidly, the Bishop received the 
last sacraments ; and the last words he said were in answer to 
renewed entreaties of the Archbishop to allow himself to be 
transferred to his (the Archbishop's) house : * A thousand 
thanks, sir. You know my mission is not to incommode 
anybody.' He then did not recover his senses, and died 
quietly January 7th, at a quarter before i o'clock p.m." 



I04 OBSEQUIES OF THE BISHOP. 

A fuller account of his obsequies is found in the official 
journal of the Archbishop of Tarragona, a copy of which was 
sent to Pittsburg. We give it entire, both for the information 
it contains and in order to preserve it. Says the journal : 

'' Right Rev. Bishop Domenec, after having received the 
holy viaticum, on the evening of the 6th inst., from the hands 
of the Most Rev. Archbishop, who was accompanied by the 
chapter and clergy of the Cathedral, by the students of the 
seminary and many of the faithful, expired at a little after 
noon on the following day. 

" After the recitation of the solemn office of the dead, the 
Archbishop, the chapter and clergy of the Cathedral, went in 
procession to the Church of Our Lady of Mercy to chant the 
customary responses over the corpse, which, clothed in pon- 
tifical habiliments, reclined on a grand catafalque in the cen- 
tre of the church. 

" On the following morning (the 8th inst.), after the con- 
ventual Mass, and according to a notice inserted in the daily 
papers, the illustrious deceased was buried in the cloister of 
the Cathedral, in the rear of the Chapel of Our Lady de la 
Guia. The corpse was carried to its last resting-place with 
the same pomp and solemnity that are observed in the fune- 
ral obsequies of the Most Rev. Archbishops. The streets 
through which the funeral procession passed on its way to 
the Cathedral were crowded with people of all classes assem- 
bled to take a last look at a prelate who in the United States 
had gained so many souls to Christ, erected and consecrated 
so many churches to the worship of the true God, and estab- 
lished so many schools for the Christian instruction of youth. 
The presence of the civil and military officers of the province, 
of a committee of the councils headed by the mayor, of the 
government employes, and many other important personages ; 
the long line of the clergy, and the music furnished by the 
military bands of the garrison — all contributed more and more 
to the solemnity of the funeral ceremony. The Archbishop 
presided at the solemn functions, which, after a pontifical 
Mass of requiem, terminated at midday in the midst of an 
extraordinary concourse of people. 

" During his illness, which lasted but a few daj^s, Bishop 



REUNION OF THE TWO DIOCESES. I05 

Domenec manifested a holy resignation in his sufferings, and 
a readiness to pass to eternity, there to receive the reward 
merited by his labors on earth. He ceased not to ask the 
mercy of God, and was profuse in his gratitude to the Arch- 
bishop, who frequently visited him, and to the Sisters of 
Charity, who ministered to his wants." Such was the death 
of a good Bishop whose name is indelibly written on the 
memory of his former spiritual children. 

After mature deliberation the Holy See entrusted the ad- 
ministration of the vacant See of Allegheny to the Bishop of 
Pittsburg by official documents bearing date August 3d, 1877. 
Referring to it in an official letter of September i8th to the 
clergy and laity of the two dioceses, the Bishop says : " We 
have been notified that the Holy Father, by the advice of 
the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, had en- 
trusted to us, though unworthy, the administration of the 
Diocese of Allegheny, in spirituals and temporals, promis- 
cuously — ' promiscuae ' — to be governed and administered as 
if both sees formed but one, ' ac si una esset dioecesis.' " 

In this manner the dioceses are still governed, and no 
doubt will continue to be for many years to come. 

During the year 1878 the interior of the Cathedral was 
freed from the dust that had so long been accumulating, and 
was appropriately painted, which adds no little to its appear- 
ance. Two new Gothic side altars of beautiful design also 
replaced the old ones. But the diocese being now well sup- 
plied with churches, there were but three dedicated in 1877, 
and one each in the two following years. The Cathedral con- 
gregation will number perhaps twelve thousand souls, and it 
will probably undergo but little change for many years. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CONGREGATIONS FORMED FROM ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. 

St. Patrick's Church — Death and Sketch of Rev. Jas. Byrnes — St. Mary's Church 
— Church of the Sacred Heart — St. John the Baptist's Church — St. Peter's 
pro-Cathedral, Allegheny City. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

The histor}' of this church has in part been already laid 
before the reader. We have seen that it was built by Father 
O'Brien, most probably in the year 1810 ; that it was enlarged 
by Father jNFGuire about the year 1825, and that upon the 
completion of St. Paul's, in the summer of 1834, it became the 
first German as it had been the first English church of the 
city. Having been occupied by the Germans until 1839 o^ 
'40, it was restored to the English, when the former purchased 
the property upon which St. Philomena's now stands. Father 
O'Reilly, then pastor of St. Paul's, mistaking the future pros- 
pects of Catholicity in the city, was in favor of selling St. 
Patrick's ; but his assistant, Rev. E. F. Garland, was of a dif- 
ferent opinion. A meeting of the congregation was called to 
discuss the affair, when it was found that the pastor and his 
assistant were the ablest advocates of the conflicting views. 
Fortunately for the cause of religion in the city, the opinion 
in favor of retaining the property prevailed, and some time 
later, in October, 1840, Father Garland was appointed pastor 
of St. Patrick's, with the care of organizing and presiding 
over the second English congregation in the city. This he 
did with but slight interruption, as we shall see, for thirty- 
eight years. The growth of Catholicity in the city was such 
that it soon became necessary to increase the accommodations 
of the church, and additional galleries were built in as large a 



BURNING OF ST. PATRICICS CHURCH. 



107 



part of it as possible. In the course of time an assistant also 
became necessary. In the spring of 1853 St. Bridget's con- 
gregation was organized, the greater part of which was taken 
from St. Patrick's. A little later in the same year St. Mary's 
Church, Laurenceville, was built, which drew away another 
portion. A school was also opened, but the date has not been 
ascertained. 

But the venerable church was doomed to destruction. A 
fire broke out in a machine-shop near it on the morning of 
August loth, 1854, and the flames being communicated to the 
church it was entirely consumed. Nothing remained but to 
replace it. But the city had extended up the Allegheny 
River a considerable distance, and it was deemed advisable to 
set the new church somewhat further in the same direction. 
The Bishop obtained a release from the fulfilment of the con- 
ditions upon which the original lot had been donated, and this 
done he sold it to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Lots 
were then purchased at the head of Fourteenth Street — the old 
church had stood at the head of Eleventh — and the new build- 
ing was immediately undertaken. In September, 1856, Father 
Garland exchanged places with Rev. Thomas M'Cullagh, of 
Summitville, Cambria County. The latter finished the church 
and remained with the congregation until its dedication by 
the Bishop, August 15th, 1858, when he returned to the moun- 
tain and the former pastor of St. Patrick's resumed his city 
charge. The church was of brick, and was perhaps 90 feet 
in length by 45 in width, and standing with the front to the 
hill had a basement under a considerable part of the rear, 
which was used as a school. The building was without a 
tower, and made little pretensions to architectural style and 
finish. 

During these years that portion of the city embraced 
within the limits of the congregation continued to be built up 
quite rapidly, and the parish was constantly adding to its 
numbers. In the autumn of 1862 an assistant was appointed 
to the pastor, who, since the formation of the parishes above 
referred to, had been alone. Since the latter date, however, 
two and later three priests have been required to minister to 
the spiritual necessities of the people. But at the close of 



io8 DEATH OF REV. JAMES BYRNES. 

the Rebellion an extraordinary impetus was given to manu- 
factures, and Pittsburg enjoyed an unusual degree of pros- 
perity. The common between the city and Laurenceville 
was rapidly built up, and St. Patrick's congregation became 
so large as no longer to find accommodations in the church. 

Besides, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company was then 
contemplating the erection of the Union Depot, and wished 
to purchase the church lot, which lay in the route they were 
desirous of occupying with their tracks. Father Garland was 
also anxious to obtain a more central position for the church ; 
and he readily accepted the proposition of the railroad com- 
pany to purchase the old one. He had already secured a lot 
on the corner of Liberty and Seventeenth streets. Upon this 
he commenced the erection of a church, which on the event 
of its completion was dedicated by the Bishop, December 
17th, 1865. The church, which is in the Attic-Ionic style of 
architecture, is 120 feet in length by 60 in width, and is sur- 
mounted by a belfry. In the front is a porch supported by 
columns in keeping with the style of the building. The ceil- 
ing is flat. There are three altars. The front is approached 
by a high flight of steps from Seventeenth Street, and a base- 
ment extends under the entire building, which is used for the 
accommodation of a part of the schools. 

In the year 1866 a convent of the Sisters of Mercy was 
built in Liberty Street against the rear of the church, and a 
young ladies' academy was opened in connection with the 
school, which for some time before had been in charge of the 
Sisters. A pastoral residence was built beside the church 
about the year 1868. Additional school-rooms were built to 
the rear of the convent some time after its completion. 

Among the assistants who shared the labors of the pastor 
was Rev. James Byrnes, whose health, never robust, finally 
gave way in the arduous duties that fell to his lot. He retired 
to the home of his parents, not far from the church, where he 
gradually sank, until death cut short his career in the sacred 
ministry, in the 26th year of his age, December 2d, 1874. 

Rev. James Byrnes was a native of the county and town 
of Carlow, Ireland, where he was born at the end of Decem- 
ber, 1848. His parents emigrated to this country and settled 



FATHER GARLAND RETIRES. ■ 109 

in Pittsburg while he was yet in his infancy. Here, in the 
home of his pious parents, James grew up and developed those 
good qualities of mind and heart for which he was afterwards 
remarkable. He entered the diocesan seminary in the spring 
of 1863, where he was a classmate of the writer, though 
younger than any other member of the class. Having finished 
his course, he was obliged to wait until he had attained the 
canonical age, when he was raised to the priesthood on the 3d 
day of June, 1871. He was now appointed assistant to the 
pastor of St. Mary's Church, Forty-sixth Street, although re- 
maining at the seminary during the week and teaching the 
branches he had taught, principally dogmatic theology, prior 
to his ordination. In August, 1872, he was appointed assistant 
at St. Patrick's Church, and at the same time he left the semi- 
nary to devote his entire attention to the mission. Here his 
health gave way, and his career was terminated by consump- 
tion. Father Byrnes was well versed in the sacred sciences. 
Though brief his career, he has left a name for zeal, piety, and 
learning that is destined long to survive. 

Worn out by forty years of active duties in the sacred 
ministry. Father Garland found his health at length so far im- 
paired and his strength so much reduced as no longer to per- 
mit him to exercise his sacred calling, and in March, 1878 — 
just forty years from his ordination, March loth, 1838 — he 
rested from his labors. In order to receive the best attention 
in the evening of his life, he retired soon after to the Mercy 
Hospital, where he calmly awaits the reward promised to the 
good and faithful servant. After his retirement the congrega- 
tion was for a time under the care of his first assistant, Rev. 
Thos. Neville. 

In the autumn of 1878 measures were taken to organize a 
new parish, and a church Avas commenced at Thirty-second 
Street, as will presently be noticed at length. Two priests 
will then be sufficient to minister to the congregation. Prior 
to this it was the largest English congregation in the western 
part of the State, with the exception of the Cathedral, and 
would probably number twelve hundred families. It cannot 
increase in the future, being surrounded as it is by other 
parishes, and lying in a closely built portion of the city ; nor 



no ST, MARY'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

is it likely to decrease, but to pursue the even tenor of its 
way, independent of vicissitudes. 

In April, 1879, Rev. S. Wall was appointed pastor. Father 
Neville had retired a short time previously to St. Xavier's, 
Westmoreland County, to recruit his health, which was much 
impaired. Upon the arrival of Father Wall he put the church 
and house through a much-needed course of improvements 
and repairs. 



ST. MARY S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

St. Mary's Church stands on Forty-sixth Street, about half 
a mile east of the Allegheny River, from which the ground 
rises gently. Upon the first appearance of the white man an 
Indian village stood here ; but in 18 16 a town was laid out by 
W. B. Foster, which he named Laurenceville, in honor of 
Captain Laurence, of the U. S. navy.* But by an act of the 
legislature of April 6th, 1866, to take effect on the ist of the 
following January, the city limits were extended to take in 
Laurenceville, East Liberty, and other eastern suburbs. But 
this, like the others, is more generally known by its original 
name. 

The first Catholics who settled in the village heard Mass 
at St. Patrick's Church, or at St. Joseph's, Sharpsburg. But 
a movement was made in the summer of 1853 to erect a 
church and school, and a meeting was called September ist 
to take the matter into consideration. A lot of about three 
acres was secured, which is perhaps the finest piece of church 
property in the diocese. The contract was immediately given 
for the erection of a building which should answer the two- 
fold purpose of a church and school. It was finished at the 
beginning of the next year ; and in the absence of a Bishop — 
for Dr. O'Connor had been transferred to Erie — it was dedi- 
cated, under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, by Very 
Rev. E. M'Mahon, Adm., January 23d. It was an unpretend- 
ing frame structure, seventy feet in length by thirty feet in 
width. Rev. A. P. Gibbs, who was then pastor of this and the 

* Day's Historical Collections, p. 90. 



A NEW CHURCH B UIL T. 1 1 1 

church at Sharpsburg, soon after transferred his residence to 
the new church, where he has since remained. A brick house 
was built for his reception, which was afterwards enlarged 
when the growth of the congregation required the ministra- 
tion of two priests. 

In time a frame school-house was built, but was replaced 
by the present neat brick one. But the growth of the town 
increased the congregation, and additional accommodations 
were demanded. With a view to supplying them a transverse 
section was put to the end of the church, and thus enlarged 
it was dedicated by the Bishop August i6th, 1863. The 
better to minister to his congregation, the pastor resigned the 
care of the church at Sharpsburg at the beginning of this 
year, and has since confined his labors exclusively to St. 
Mary's. 

The schools passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy 
in the autumn of 1866, who having come out daily for a year 
from St. Mary's Convent, Webster Street, a commodious 
brick convent was built for their reception, of which they 
took possession September 7th, 1867. 

But the congregation was now increasing more rapidly 
than ever before, not only in numbers but in general impor- 
tance, and the church was no longer able to accommodate it. 
A new church must be built, which, although a great under- 
taking, was yet within the reach of so large and able a com- 
munity. Work was commenced in the spring of 1873, and the 
corner-stone was laid by Bishop Domenec on the 23d of June. 
The church was ready for dedication by the following spring, 
and the ceremony, which was unusually imposing, was per- 
formed April 19th by Bishop Mullen, of Erie, in the presence 
of Bishop Domenec, who afterwards celebrated the Holy 
Sacrifice. The Bishop of Erie preached an eloquent sermon 
on the occasion. The church, which is of brick and modelled 
after the Gothic style of architecture, is 146 feet in length by 
56 in width. There is no steeple, but the front and rear 
walls are surmounted by gracefully cut stone pinnacles. The 
ceiling rises from the sides, ribbed towards the centre, in a 
fashion which has lately come into vogue in this diocese. 
There are three superb Gothic altars of wood, which, with 



112 CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART. 

the pulpit, confessionals, etc., are made to harmonize with the 
style of the church. On the whole, it is one of the most sub- 
stantial and elegant churches in the diocese. Prior to the 
building of the church an assistant was required to share the 
labors of the pastor. The old church, or rather that part of 
it which had not been torn away to give place to the new one, 
was converted into a school for the boys. The growth of the 
congregation was arrested by the panic of 1873 ; but it must 
still continually add to its numbers, although not so rapidly 
as before that event. As it is the parish is one of the largest, 
and with one or two exceptions the most flourishing, English 
congregations in the diocese, notwithstanding that a part has 
been taken off to form the new congregation of St. John the 
Baptist. 



THE CHURCH OF THE SACRED HEART, PITTSBURG. 

After the annexation of the borough of East Liberty to 
Pittsburg it became generally known as the " East End." 
The first Catholic population, as will be stated further on, was 
German, for whom a church was erected in 1859. ^^^ an 
English element soon began to mingle with the German, and 
either heard Mass at the German church or in one of those of 
the city. At length the number of families became sufficiently 
large to form a separate congregation and require a church 
of its own. Rev. J. M. Bierl, then pastor of the German 
church, purchased a lot at the corner of College and Centre 
avenues, on the northern side of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 
in the spring of 1872. Rev. Bernard F. Ferris was appointed 
first pastor, and entrusted with the organization of the parish. 
He celebrated Mass for the first time August 4th of the same 
year by a special arrangement in the German church, which it 
was agreed the new congregation should be permitted to use 
until such time as it should have one of its own. But this 
arrangement proving unsatisfactory, he commenced the next 
day the erection of a temporary church ; and so great was the 
energy displayed that he had a wooden building, 32 by 50 feet, 
ready for divine service on Sunday the i8th of the same month. 



RETURN OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY. 113 

The congregation then numbered about seventy-five families, 
with very flattering future prospects. 

Plans were now prepared and work commenced on a per- 
manent church, the corner-stone of which was laid by the 
Bishop June 15th, 1873. A neat and comfortable brick pas- 
toral residence was built the same year and occupied about 
Christmas. Although the congregation was increasing rapidly, 
the erection of a church such as that upon which they were 
now engaged was a great undertaking, and the panic which 
took place soon after the work was begun was calculated to 
dampen the ardor of both pastor and people. But the work 
was continued, and the church, being finished, was dedicated 
by the Bishop October 24th, 1875. It is a cruciform brick 
building fronting on Centre Avenue, and is 127 feet in length 
by 46 in width in the nave and 75 in the transept. The 
steeple, which stands at the left front, is finished to the height 
of the roof for the present. The style of architecture is pecu- 
liar. The ceiling both of the nave and transept follows the pitch 
of the roof, the greatest height being 46 feet, while that of the 
walls is 24. The head of the nave is formed into an apse for 
the sanctuary, and is furnished with a marble altar. There 
are, besides, two side-altars. The two confessionals, as well 
as the pews, are finished in a very artistic manner. The 
stained-glass windows are embellished with designs illustra- 
tive of the life of Christ. 

A school, under the charge of lay teachers, was opened in 
the temporary church in January, 1873. Two years later a 
colony of seven Sisters of Charity from Altoona took charge 
of the schools, and occupied, and still occupy, the pastoral 
residence as a convent, while the pastor, as before its erec- 
tion, went to lodge in a hotel. This, it is worthy of remark, 
is the first entrance of the Sisters of Charity into the city since 
their withdrawal about thirty years before. During the sum- 
mer of 1874 a brick school-house, 44 feet square and two stories 
high, was built ; and when the schools were transferred to it 
the temporary church was transformed into a pastoral resi- 
dence, and so it remains. The outfit of the congregation is 
now complete, but a very heavy debt remains to engage the 
attention of both pastor and people for many years to come. 



114 •5'r. JOHN THE BAPTISTS CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

But the future prospects are more flattering than those of the 
other city congregations generally, and a large proportion of 
the people are of the wealthy and influential class. There are 
at present about two hundred famiUes in the parish, and it is 
gradually but slowly increasing. Father Ferris was succeeded 
by Rev. Francis Keane, the present pastor, in February, il 



ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

For several years the need of a church between St. Pat- 
rick's and St. Mary's had been apparent, but it was not until 
the spring of 1878 that steps were taken to erect it. Lots 
were then purchased at the corner of Liberty and Thirty, 
second streets, and work was commenced under the direction 
of Father Gibbs, of St. Mary's. The corner-stone was laid by 
the Bishop on the 20th of October of the same year, and it is 
worthy of remark that it is the first ceremony of the kind per- 
formed by that prelate. The building, in the erection of 
which St. Patrick's and St. Mar3^'s contributed a part, was 
finished and ready for dedication early in the following sum- 
mer. The solemn ceremony was performed by the Bishop 
on the 8th of June, when the church was placed under the 
invocation of St. John the Baptist. The building is of brick, 
is 80 feet in length by 40 in width, and two stories high, and 
is planned to answer the purposes of a church and school. 
The lower story, which is high and is finished with gallery, 
altar, confessionals, etc., is for the use of the congregation, 
while the upper story is divided into school-rooms. 

When the church was finished Rev. C. V. Neeson was 
appointed pastor, and soon after he rented a house near by, as 
a residence has not yet been built. The congregation is 
formed in part each from St. Patrick's and St. Mary's, and is 
sufficient to fill the church at two Masses on Sunday. There 
must necessarily be a Hmit to its future growth, being sur- 
rounded as it is on all sides by other congregations ; but not- 
withstanding this it is destined to increase considerably. At 
the beginning of September, 1879, ^^ schools were placed 
under the care of the Sisters of Charity, who at present come 



THE COLORED CATHOLICS OF PITTSBURG. 115 

daily by the cars from the convent attached to the Church of 
the Sacred Heart. 



THE CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY (COLORED), PITTSBURG. 

Colored Catholics were found in the city from an early 
day. The first attempt at forming- them into a separate con- 
gregation was made by Rev. R. H. Wilson, D.D., president 
of St. Michael's Seminary. With the consent of the Bishop 
he rented a hall on Smithfield Street, near Diamond, that had 
been previously occupied by a congregation of Methodists, 
and had it blessed, under the title of the Nativity of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, June 30th, 1844. The zeal of the pastor was ex- 
traordinary, and amounted to enthusiasm. He would visit 
the homes of his sable flock, spend hours among them, and 
even seat himself at their table and partake of their frugal 
repast, so intent was he on gaining them to Christ. Soon he 
succeeded in collecting together a large number who were al- 
ready of the faith, and others who were under instruction. But 
his success excited the jealousy of the sects, and a trick was 
resorted to in order to destroy the fruit of his labors. A min- 
ister declared from the pulpit of one of the colored churches 
on the hill that Dr. Wilson was a pro-slavery man who, when 
he had collected a sufficient number of colored people, would 
have them seized and carried South, to be there sold into 
slavery by his agents. The trick had the desired effect : the 
poor, simple people took the alarm, and the congregation was 
dispersed about a year after its formation. The chapel was 
closed and abandoned, and the colored people from that period 
until the opening of St. Joseph's Chapel, to be hereafter no- 
ticed, attended the other churches of the city. 

ST. PETER'S PRO-CATHEDRAL, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

Allegheny City, which lies north-west of Pittsburg, and on 
the opposite side of the river of the same name, was laid out 
under an act of the General Assembly approved September 
nth, 1787. The original town was exactly square, containing 
one hundred lots, each sixty feet by two hundred and forty. 



Il6 ST. PETER'S PRO-CATHEDRAL, ALLEGHENY CLTY. 

It Avas incorporated as Allegheny Town by an act of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of April 14th, 1828, and chartered as a city 
April loth, 1840, having then a population of about 10,000. 
The present population is about 80,000. 

Catholics settled in Allegheny about the beginning of this 
century, but attended one of the churches of Pittsburg until 
the year 1848. Their number having by this time increased 
sufficiently to render the formation of a separate congregation 
both feasible and necessary, a meeting was called for that 
purpose on the 17th of September. Rev. James O'Connor, 
brother of the Bishop, was appointed pastor of the incipient 
congregation, and measures were taken toward the erection 
of a church. Lots were purchased on Anderson Street, near 
Washington, in the northern part of the city, at a cost of about 
$6000, and the erection of a church was soon after begun. 
Toward the end of the following year Father O'Connor was 
succeeded by Rev. E. M'Mahon. The church was finished 
the following spring at a cost of about $10,000, and dedicated, 
under the invocation of St. Peter the Apostle, by Bishop 
Whelan, of Wheeling, April 21st, 1850. On the 24th of the 
same month Father M'Mahon was transferred to the Cathe- 
dral, where he was appointed pastor, and was succeeded at St. 
Peter's by Rev. James Kearney. A school taught by the Sis- 
ters of Mercy, from St. Mary's Convent, Pittsburg, was now 
opened in the basement of the church. Soon the pastor re- 
solved to establish a house of the Sisters in the parish, and ac- 
cordingly St. Anne's Convent, commonly known as the House 
of Industry, was built on Washington Street, near the church, 
about the year 1854. The school-houses of the parish were 
built on the same lots not long after. Father Kearney was 
succeeded, October 24th of the same year, by Rev. T. Mul- 
len. About this time, or a little before it, the Franciscan 
Brothers, from the Cathedral, took charge of the boys' school 
and continued to teach it until the summer of 1866. 

The pastor of St. Peter's has always had charge of the 
Catholic inmates of the Western Penitentiary, to whom he 
ministers at regular and frequent intervals. Prior to the or- 
ganization of St. Andrew's parish, Manchester, he performed 
the same office of mercy to the unfortunate proteges of the 



THE HOUSE OF REFUGE. 117 

House of Refuge, or Pennsylvania Reform School, when big- 
otry would condescend to permit it. The fanatical opposition 
of the officers of the institution to the visits of a priest occa- 
sioned quite a spirited public correspondence between Father 
Mullen and John L. Logan, president of the Refuge, in Febru- 
ary, 1862. Through the influence of Father Mullen a supple- 
ment to the act of incorporation of the institution was imme- 
diately introduced into the legislature, by which the inmates 
were permited in time of sickness to confer with a minister of 
their choice, in sight, but if desired not in hearing, of an officer 
of the institution, as the rules previously required. The act 
was approved March 31st of that year; and the unfortunate 
children felt their condition somewhat ameliorated in being 
able to make their confession, a privilege from which they had 
before been debarred. 

Another supplement, more just and reasonable, was forced 
upon the managers by the Catholic members of the legisla- 
ture May 5th, 1876, when a large appropriation was asked 
from the State for the completion of the new buildings at 
Morganza. This act provides that " the inmates of said insti- 
tution shall have the right to receive religious instruction from 
ministers of any denomination or belief without any obstruc- 
tion or interference whatever." We shall have occasion here- 
after to observe how this provision is carried out by the pres- 
ent board of officers. 

Upon the withdrawal of Very Rev. E. M'Mahon from the 
diocese, in 1864, Father ^Mullen was appointed Vicar-General, 
and continued to discharge the duties of that office until his 
elevation to the See of Erie. 

The population of Allegheny was increasing rapidly at 
this time, but principally in the western part of the city, the 
eastern being already closely built. The number of Catholics 
was also augmenting, and St. Peter's, even with three Masses 
on a Sunday, began to be inadequate to their accommodation. 
The borough of Manchester, which since its annexation to the 
city, in 1867, forms the western wards, was also becoming a 
place of note, and, being the site of extensive iron manufacto- 
ries, contained a considerable Irish Cathohc population. The 
distance at which these people Hved from St. Peter's induced 



Il8 THE PRO-CATHEDRAL BUILT. 

Father Mullen to build a church for their accommodation. 
St. Andrew's was consequently built, and dedicated Decem- 
ber 20th, 1863. For several years it was attended from the 
mother-church, a circumstance which necessitated the appoint- 
ment of an assistant pastor. 

The erection of the new church and the withdrawal of a 
part of the congregation afforded but a temporary relief. A 
larger church was absolutely necessary. Measures were being 
taken looking toward its erection, when the pastor was pro- 
moted to the See of Erie, and consecrated at St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral by Bishop Domenec August 2d, 1868. On taking leave 
of the congregation over which he had so long presided. Rev. 
R. Phelan, of Freeport, was appointed his successor, July 21st. 
The first care of the newly appointed pastor was the erection 
of the church. Additional lots were purchased adjoining 
those already owned by the congregation on the corner of 
West Ohio Street and Sherman Avenue. Plans were obtained 
after a little delay, and work was commenced in the fall of 
1870. The corner-stone was laid with imposing ceremony by 
Bishop Domenec April i6th, 1871. Work was pushed for- 
ward rapidly, as the old church was already sold to the rail- 
road company and possession was to be given upon a fixed 
date. But the building is large, and time was demanded in 
its construction. The basement was blessed by the Bishop 
and opened for occupation December ist, 1872. Gradually 
the building rose from its foundation and began to assume 
those proportions which attract the attention of all and delight 
the eye of the critic. The solemn dedication, which was the 
most remarkable event as yet in the history of the congrega- 
tion, was performed by Bishop Domenec Sunday, July 5th, 

1874. 

The church is in the Gothic style of architecture, but with- 
out a transept, and is 165 feet in length by 70 in width, con- 
sisting of a basement and main story, with a tower at the left 
side in front. The basement is almost wholly beneath the 
level of the street, but has a passage of perhaps six feet on 
each side the entire length, which secures ventilation and light. 
The walls of the basement are of stone, and those of the super- 
structure, including the tower, are faced with stone. All the 



DESCRIPTION OF ST. PETER'S. 119 

door and window jambs, tracery, label mouldings, corbels 
and string-courses, turrets and pinnacles, are of cut stone, and 
the plane surface of the walls is chiselled. The tower, on 
reaching the height of the roof, is finished in a pyramidal spire, 
and measures 200 feet from the basement floor to the top of 
the cross. The basement is one single room, having a recess 
for the altar, with the sacristies on each side, and is thirteen 
feet high in the clear. There are three rows of cast-iron pil- 
lars to support the columns and floor of the main story. Here 
the week-day Masses are commonly celebrated. 

The church proper consists of the nave and two aisles, 
with groined ceilings supported by beautiful clustered col- 
umns of cast iron. The aisles are 30 feet to the ceiling and 
the nave 55, but without a clerestory. A spacious gallery 
over the front supports an organ and affords accommodation 
to a large number of persons besides. There are three ele- 
gant marble altars, the high altar being of rare workman- 
ship. The sanctuary is spacious, and is admirably adapted to 
the imposing ceremonies of the Church. To the rear of the 
side altars are the sacristies, which communicate with each 
other by a passage behind the high altar. The pulpit, which 
is built against one of the columns, together with the confes- 
sionals, the altar-rail, and the pews, is of exquisite workman- 
ship. The ceilings are finished with heavy stucco mouldings, 
with rich corbels, which with the plane surface is of an im- 
maculate white and will remain so as long the smoke of the 
cities permits. The windows are filled with stained glass of 
home manufacture, which for richness and beauty is not sur- 
passed by any in the county. The entire cost of this splendid 
edifice was about $125,000. 

The old church has entirely disappeared, and the spot 
where it stood can with difficulty be recognized by those who 
for years frequented it. 

Soon after the completion of the church the attention of 
the congregation was turned to the erection of a pastoral resi- 
dence ; for, strange as it may appear, it was as yet without 
one, and the priest was obliged to live in a rented dwelling. 
It was immediately determined upon, and as a result there is 
the elegant residence, brick with cut-stone front, that stands to 



I20 ALLEGHENY CITY AN EPISCOPAL SEE. 

the rear of the church, on Sherman Avenue. It was finished 
in the spring of 1876. 

Upon the formation of the Diocese of Alleghen}^ St, 
Peter's became the pro-Cathedral, and Bishop Domenec took 
up his abode with the pastor. When he made his last trip 
across the Atlantic, in the spring of 1877, he left Fr. Phelan 
Administrator of the diocese, an office which he continued to 
fill until the two dioceses were united under one administra- 
tion, August 3d of the same year. 

St. Peter's is one of the largest and by far the wealthiest 
and most flourishing English-speaking congregation in Western 
Pennsylvania ; and in point of substantial, neat, and commodi- 
ous buildings is not equalled, much less surpassed, by any 
other. But it is not destined to increase in numbers, being 
surrounded as it is on all sides by other congregations. 



CHAPTER IX. 

congregations formed from st. paul's cathedral — 

(concluded). 

St. Andrew's Church, Allegheny — Death and sketch of Rev. Denis O'Brien — St. 
Bridget's Church, Pittsburg— St. Joseph's (colored) Church— St. James' 
Church — St. John's Church — St. Stephen's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. 
P. M. Ward— St. Agnes' Church— Death and sketch of Rev. P. Kerr— St. 
Mary of Mercy's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. J, A. O'Rourke — and of 
Rev. M. F. Devlin— St. Malachy's Church— St. Mary of the Mount. 

ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

The borough of Manchester was laid out by John Sampson 
and others in 1832, and incorporated into Allegheny March 
1 2th, 1867. It now forms the south-western portion of that 
city. 

In treating of St. Peter's it was stated that Fr. Mullen 
built a church in Manchester for the accommodation of the 
Catholics who had there taken up their residence. The lots 
upon which the church stands are situated at the corner of 
Beaver Avenue and Brady Street. This church, a plain and 
neat brick building, seventy feet in length by thirty in width, 
but without steeple or belfry, was erected in the summer of 
1863, and was dedicated, under the invocation of St. Andrew 
the Apostle, by Fr. Mullen December 20th of the same year. 
At that time this portion of the city for a considerable dis- 
tance round was a common. Small as the church was, the 
congregation was yet insufficient to fill it ; and the most 
sanguine could hardly have imagined that in less than eight 
years it would be in the heart of a closely built portion of the 
city, and that people would be demanding a church capable 
of accommodating four times as many. But no suburb of 
Pittsburg or Allegheny was built up more rapidly than this. 



122 ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

The church was attended from St. Peter's until the ist of 
February, 1866, when it became independent, and Rev. M. J. 
Mitchell was appointed first resident pastor. One of his first 
undertakings was the erection of a neat and commodious 
brick residence by the side of the church. He was succeeded 
April I St, 1868, by the late Rev. P. M'C. Morgan. During these 
years the common was laid out in building-lots and built up, 
and manufactories sprung into life on all sides. The cloud 
from the consumption of coal gradually grew darker over- 
head, and the '' Smoky City" gratefully recognized the flour- 
ishing borough as one of her suburbs. The Pittsburg Loco- 
motive Works was built on Beaver Avenue, directly opposite 
the church. 

After ministering to the congregation until February 3d, 
1870, Fr. Morgan withdrew on account of declining health, 
and was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Mathew 
Carroll. 

The growth of the congregation was more rapid than that 
of the town, and St. Andrew's became daily less capable of 
accommodating the number that thronged to hear Mass. The 
erection of a larger church could no longer be deferred ; and 
Fr. Carroll undertook it in the summer after his appointment. 
The corner-stone was laid, in the presence of an immense mul- 
titude, by the Bishop September nth, 1870, the day of his 
return from the Vatican Council. At the end of two years it 
was dedicated by the same prelate, October 28th. The church 
is 135 feet in length by 65 in width, is of brick, and constructed 
after a style of architecture in which the Gothic elements 
predominate. The tower in the centre in front is finished at 
present to the comb of the roof, its completion being reserved 
to a future time. The heavy trusses that support the steep 
roof rest upon massive buttresses, a circumstance which en- 
abled the architect to dispense with pillars in the interior to 
sustain the ceihng, that rises from the sides toward the centre, 
ribbed in a semi-Gothic style now much in vogue. There are 
three altars, of which the main one has a spacious sanctuary. 
A gallery over the entrance supports the organ. The pulpit 
is built against the wall, and the pews in front of it are re- 
versible. Through the prudence and energy of Fr. Carroll 



DEATH OF REV\ DENIS O'BRIEN. 1 23 

the church was almost entirely free from debt at the time of 
its completion. 

St. Andrew's is without a basement, and until recently no 
school-house was erected. Nor need we be surprised at this 
if it be remembered that the congregation built two churches 
and a pastoral residence in the brief space of nine years. 

At the date of the completion of the new church the con- 
gregation was so large as to require an assistant to aid the 
pastor in the discharge of his duties. Rev. Denis O'Brien, 
then ordained, was appointed in the summer of 1873, and 
continued to fill that position until declining health forced 
him to retire early in the autumn of the following year. He 
withdrew to St. Joseph's Hospital, Philadelphia, where he re- 
mained for a short time, and afterwards came to the residence 
of Rev. Thos. Ryan, an uncle of his, at GaUitzin, on the 
summit of the Allegheny Mountains, where he breathed his 
last, of consumption, November 5th, 1874. 

Rev. Denis O'Brien was born in the parish of Burgess, 
county Tipperary, Ireland, in the year 1849. After pursu- 
ing his studies for some time in his native land, he came to 
America in the spring of 1869 and entered St. Michael's Sem- 
inary at the commencement of the September session. Hav- 
ing finished his course of theology, he was ordained June 7th, 
1873, and soon after appointed to St. Andrew's. Although 
he was not permitted to attain a ripe age, his career was yet 
sufficient to endear him to all with whom he came in contact 
and impress them with a high idea of his zeal and virtue. 
His body reposes in the cemetery of St. Patrick's Church, 
Gallitzin, on the summit of the montains, over the tunnel of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Soon after his interment a taste- 
ful monument was erected by Fr. Ryan to mark the spot. 

The duty of ministering to the Catholic inmates of the 
House of Refuge, which, until its removal in the year 1876 to 
Morganza, stood a short distance from the church, devolved 
upon the pastor of St. Andrew's. After the passage of the 
last act elsewhere referred to Mass was offered up every 
Saturday, and instruction given and confessions heard on 
Friday evening. About one third of the children are Catho- 
lics. 



124 -ST. BRIDGET'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG, 

A neat and substantial brick school-house, 60 by 40 feet 
and three stories high, was built in the summer of 1876, con- 
sisting of four rooms, and a spacious hall on the third floor. 
But owing to the difficulty of obtaining religious to teach, the 
school was not opened until September, 1877, when the Sisters 
of Mercy, from the House of Industry, took charge of it. 

This congregation more than any other in the cities suffered 
from the financial crisis of 1873. Perhaps one third of the 
people sought employment elsewhere, and many of those that 
remained were reduced to the verge of starvation. But it is 
gradually recovering from the shock, and must continue to do 
so and to increase in numbers in the future. 

ST. BRIDGET'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

St. Bridget's Church stands on the hill about a mile from 
the Point and equidistant between the two rivers. Origi- 
nally it was formed from St. Patrick's and the Cathedral, but 
the greatest part has grown up since the congregation was 
organized. Early in the spring of 1853 Rev. J. Tuigg, then 
one of the assistant priests at the Cathedral, now its Bishop, 
was deputed by Dr. O'Connor to organize the congregation 
and erect the church. A site was purchased on what is at 
present Wylie Avenue, above Arthur Street, and the church 
was undertaken. Father Tuigg lodged at the episcopal resi- 
dence. The building was planned to be two stories, the lower 
of which should serve a.s a church, the upper as a school. By 
the time the first story was finished Father Tuigg was trans- 
ferred to Altoona, and was succeeded m Juty, 1853, by Rev. 
James Treacy, then assistant at St. Patrick's. He also came 
to lodge at the Cathedral, and together with the care of the 
congregation took charge of the Mercy Hospital. The 
church was finished the same year, and was dedicated by 
Rev. Thomas Malone in December. The building, which is 
of brick, small, and simple in style, is yet standing. When it 
was completed the pastor portioned off " a suite of apartments" 
for himself on the second floor, and furnished them in a style 
not unlike that in which the Sunamkess furnished the cell 
she had built for the prophet Eliseus. Here he lodged for 



BURNING OF ST. BRIDGET'S CHURCH, 125 

many years, laboring and studying by day and resting by 
night, and taking his meals at such places as were found to be 
most advantageous. 

A school was opened in the remaining portion of the 
second story, which was conducted by a lay teacher until it 
passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy. 

The hill portion of the city, offering no inducement to 
manufacturers, was built up but slowly ; and the congregation 
was in its infancy for about eleven years. At the end of that 
time residences began to spring up rapidly, and soon St. 
Bridget's was a flourishing parish. A new and larger church 
now became necessary, and measures were taken to supply 
the want in the spring of 1865. The corner-stone was laid by 
the Bishop with the imposing ceremony customary in those 
days, July 30th. According to the plan the building should 
occupy a part of the original lot, front on Enoch Street, and 
be 1 10 feet in length by 53 in width, with basement of cut 
stone and superstructure of brick. The basement was finished 
as soon as possible, and occupied by the congregation ; but 
work on the superstructure progressed more slowly. In the 
spring of 1871, when $25,000 had been spent on the building, 
and both pastor and people looked forward to its completion 
at no distant day, it took fire early on Holy Saturday morn- 
ing, April 8th, and was entirely destroyed. The congregation 
was forced to return to the old church. The loss, though 
great, was not irreparable, and a meeting was called on Sun- 
day to deliberate on what was best to be done. Forced by 
necessity, they determined to begin anew. The outstanding 
debt of $15,000 was covered by the insurance. The con- 
gregation, however, had increased since the commencement 
of the church, and it was necessary to make the second new 
building larger than the first had been. Want of space pre- 
vented its extension in length, but an addition was made to 
its width, making it 70 by no feet. The foundation walls of 
the ruins were used as far as they were deemed safe and the 
proportions of the building permitted. The corner-stone was 
laid by the Bishop July i6th, 1871, and the basement was 
occupied before the beginning of winter. About this time an 
assistant to the pastor was appointed. The church was 



126 THE NEW CHURCH. 

finished and dedicated by the Bishop April 28th, 1872. But 
it was not completed without entailing a burden of debt that 
it will require many years to liquidate. 

St. Bridget's, though differing in style from all the 
churches of the city, is superior to many of them. It con- 
sists of a nave and aisles separated by seven octagonal pillars 
on each side that support the ceiling, which is modelled after 
the tunnel vault of the Romanesque style. The altar-rail 
extends across the entire building, separating the main and 
two side altars from the body of the church. The pulpit is 
not yet erected, and the high altar is temporary. The win- 
dows, filled with stained glass, are of the Romanesque pat- 
tern. The large organ in the gallery over the entrance is 
perhaps richer in tone than any other in our churches. Since 
its completion the church has been tastefully frescoed. 

Upon the completion of the new building the old church 
was transformed into a school-house. The erection of a pas- 
toral residence, which was about this time in contemplation, 
was abandoned on account of the heavy debt on the church, 
and the pastor was left as before to occupy a rented dwell- 
ing. It has fallen to the lot of few priests to contend against 
greater difhculties, trials, and disappointments than Father 
Treacy has found thickly strewn on his path ; and there is no 
one who has enlisted a larger share of public and of Catholic 
sympathy than he. 

The financial embarrassments consequent on the panic of 
1873 were felt in all their force by the pastor and congrega- 
tion of St. Bridget's. With a debt which it would have been 
sufficiently difficult to liquidate in times of prosperity, they 
found themselves unequal to the task when the panic pros- 
trated business. The payment of the interest was then a work 
of no ordinary magnitude. The schools were discontinued in 
the summer of 1876 with a view of reducing expenses, and a 
year later the assistant was dispensed with. In addition to 
these the zealous pastor, who for a quarter of a century had 
devoted his days and nights to the service of his flock, had 
other difficulties of a trying nature to disturb his brief mo- 
ments of repose ; and, regretted by all, he was forced to with- 
draw from St. Bridget's and from the diocese at the close of 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH {COLORED), PITTSBURG. 127 

» 

the year 1877. He was succeeded by Rev. Jerome Kearney, 
from Latrobe, the present pastor. 

For several years the assistant pastor of St. Bridget's was 
chaplain of the Ursuline Convent, which is located but a short 
distance from the church. Mass is at present celebrated by 
one of the priests of the Catholic College. 

St. Bridget's congregation must continue to increase 
gradually with the growth of the city until its outer portions 
are cut off to form new congregations. In 1879 Father 
Kearney built a spacious brick residence. 

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH (COLORED), PITTSBURG. 

On his return from the Second Plenary Council of Balti- 
more, in the fall of 1866, Bishop Domenec turned his attention 
to the care of the colored Catholics of Pittsburg. As they 
lived principally within the limits of St. Bridget's parish he 
committed them to Rev. Jas. Treacy, who by his advice pur- 
chased a lot for a church on Arthur Street, near St. Bridget's, 
toward the payment of which the Bishop donated $1000. A 
small church was begun ; but when the first story was built 
a temporary roof was put on it, and so it remained. Vespers 
and instruction were given regularly from that time, and a 
school was opened by the Sisters of Mercy ; but the people 
heard Mass at St. Bridget's. They are generally poor, many 
of them are not constant in their attachment to the Church, 
and it is difficult to effect great permanent good among them. 
Besides, the more influential among them did not attend the 
new church. For this reason St. Joseph's, although produc- 
tive of good, did not fully reahze the expectations of the Bishop. 
The poverty and inconstancy of the people rendered it im- 
possible for them to pay the debt already contracted, much 
less to finish the building. The crisis came, and, every effort 
to save it proving unavailing, it was sold by the foreclosure 
of the mortgage, November, 1876. It is not probable that 
another effort will ever be made to erect a church for this 
people ; nor is it necessary : they will find ample accommoda- 
tions in the other churches of the city. 



128 ST. JAMBS' CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 



ST. JAMES' CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

The portion of the city embraced within the territory now 
claiming our attention was at first a part of Lower St. Clair 
Township. Later the village of Temperanceville sprung up 
at the mouth of Saw Mill Run, and in 1872, when all the 
boroughs south of the Monongahela River were incorporated 
into the city, this went to form the extreme south-western 
wards. 

The first Catholic settlers either attended the Cathedral or 
St. Philip's Church, Broadhead. But when their number had 
sufficiently increased the Bishop recommended them to erect 
a church for their own accommodation. In the spring of 
1853 he purchased a lot which is by no means eligible, and 
presented it to the incipient congregation. The church was 
undertaken in July, and, although not finished, was opened 
for divine service on Christmas Day. Work was continued 
on the interior with all the speed which the season of the year 
permitted, and Rev. Jas. M'Gowen, under whose pastoral care 
the congregation had been from its organization, had the 
pleasure of seeing the building finished early in the summer 
of 1854. It was dedicated, under the invocation of St. James 
the Apostle, by the Bishop on the nth of June. The build- 
ing is of brick, small, and with little attempt at architectural 
style. Fr. M'Gowen was succeeded in October by Rev. J. 
B. O'Connor, and he in February, 1855, by Rev. Con. M. 
Sheehan. November of the same year saw him give place to 
Rev. John Hackett, and at the end of two 3^ears he was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. M. Carroll. During this time the congrega- 
tion had undergone but little change beyond a very gradual 
increase in numbers. That portion of the city's suburbs was 
not naturally calculated to invite settlers, and w^hile other 
parts were built up rapidly it kept the even tenor of its way. 

For twelve years Fr. Carroll remained with the congrega- 
tion, identifying hiniself with it in all that related to its spir- 
itual and temporal prosperity. By the end of this time the 
mining and manufacturing interests of the place were consider- 
ably developed, and many Catholics had made their homes 



THE ''SOUTH side:' 1 29 

here and found employment. Additional accommodations 
were required, and Fr. Carroll planned an improvement in 
1869 which consisted of a frame wing with its end resting 
against the side of the original edifice. The capacity of the 
church was in this way doubled. Scarcely had the addition 
been completed when Fr. Carroll was transferred to St. 
Andrew's, Manchester, and was succeeded, February, 1870, 
by the present pastor. Rev. F. L. Tobin. 

The appointment of a resident pastor of St. Malachy's 
Church about this time drew away a number of families from 
the eastern portion of the congregation. 

The large basement under the new portion of the church 
afforded rooms for a school, and one was opened with three 
lay teachers in December, 1870, and has since been continued. 
A school had been opened some years before, but it had been 
long discontinued. As yet the congregation was without a 
residence of its own for the pastor; but in September, 1871, a 
house and lot adjoining the church were purchased, and in the 
following summer the house was raised and remodelled, mak- 
ing of it a neat and comfortable residence. 

What the congregation is destined to become in the future 
it would be difficult to conjecture. The locality is not favor- 
able for a rapid or considerable growth of population ; and 
the nature of the employments in which the greater part of the 
people is engaged makes their residence precarious. Still the 
congregation, which numbers at present about two hundred 
and fifty families, must gradually increase ; and the time is not 
far distant when a larger church will be required for its accom- 
modation. The congregation has already purchased a very 
eligible site for a church, and has collected a considerable 
sum of money towards its erection. 

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

The borough of Birmingham, which forms the principal 
part of the South Side, was laid out by Nathaniel Bedford in 
the autumn of 181 1, incorporated as a borough April 14th, 
1828, and consolidated with the city of Pittsburg January ist, 
1873, in conjunction with the other boroughs south of the 



I30 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

Monongahela. Since that time the whole is known as the 
'' South Side." 

Simultaneously with the election of St. James' Church 
was the formation of another parish from the eastern as 
that was from the western portion of the Catholic population 
south of the Monongahela River. As early as the year 1820 
Fr. M'Guire preached, by invitation, in the house of Mr. 
Ihmsen to an assembly in which there was not one Catholic. 
Beyond this, however, nothing was done, and the few Catho- 
lics who settled there heard Mass at the Cathedral. 

At length the erection of extensive iron and glass manufac- 
tories attracted a large population of laborers, among whom 
were sufficient Catholic families to make the erection of a 
church for their accommodation both practicable and neces- 
sary. Lots were purchased from Mr. Ihmsen on Fourteenth 
Street,* near the foot of the hill, and Rev. T. S. Reynolds was 
appointed pastor June ist, 1853. At that time the Catholics 
numbered about twenty-five famiHes. Fr. Reynolds addressed 
himself with energy and zeal to the work before him, and in 
the mean time offered up the Holy Sacrifice in an old store- 
room near the spot where he was erecting the church. The 
building, which is brick, was finishec early in the summer of 
1854, and dedicated by Very Rev. E. M'Mahon, V.G., on the 
7th of May. But the style of the church of that day cannot be 
conjectured from the appearance of the stately edifice in which 
the people now perform their devotions. It was constructed 
with a basement, which for several years served the purpose 
of a school-room, and in which a school was opened by a lay 
teacher immediately after the dedication of the church. 

Fr. Reynolds accompanied Bishop O'Connor when he 
travelled in the Old World for the benefit of his health in 1855 
and 1856. On his return, however, he resumed his former 
charge, and continued to minister to the spiritual necessities 
of the congregation until November 29th, 1859, when he ex- 
changed places with Rev. W. Pollard, of Loretto. 

The congregation had increased considerably, and would 

*The numbered streets on the South Side are those that run at right angles 
from the river ; they are numbered from west to east. •^Jje highest being Thirty- 
third Street. 



ST. JOHN'S CHURCH ENLARGED. 13 1 

have become still more numerous had it not been for the 
opening of a chapel at the Passionist Monastery, on the hill 
overlooking the town, and another at the seminary, which 
drew off a number of families near Six Mile Ferry, on the 
Monongahela. Still the church was too small, and it was 
necessary to enlarge it. As a preliminary step, additional 
lots were purchased adjoining the church, on which, in 1861, 
a commodious and substantial brick school-house was built, to 
permit the schools to be transferred from the basement of the 
church. The plane of the floor was then lowered, and the 
whole sacred edifice entirely remodelled. This done, it was 
rededicated by Bishop Domenec April 2d, 1865. Not long 
before this time an assistant was assigned to the pastor, an 
arrangement that still continues to exist. 

The pastoral residence, which was too small and by no 
means prepossessing in appearance, was next enlarged and re- 
modelled, and it is now a credit to the congregation and a 
comfortable home for the pastor. During the years immedi- 
ately after the close of the rebellion the congregation increased 
very rapidly. But the erection of St. Malachy's Church in 
1869 drew off a large number of families from the western 
extremity ; and later St. Peter's German Church may also 
have taken a few from the eastern. The church was yet too 
small, and an enlargement became necessary. It was under- 
taken in 1872, when an addition was put to the front, making 
the church no feet in length by 55 in width. At the same 
time a tower was erected to the left of the entrance, which 
greatly improved the appearance of the edifice. The building 
is brick, with the front coated with cement, and pointed in 
imitation of stone, and approaches more nearly to the Gothic 
than to any other style of architecture. There are three 
beautiful altars, and a gallery over the entrance. The interior 
has been neatly frescoed. 

The duty of ministering to the Catholic inmates of the 
Poor House at City Farm, a few miles up the Monongahela 
River, devolves upon the pastor of St. John's. 

In 1856 the Sisters of Mercy took charge of the school, 
and continued to teach it until the erection of the new orphan 
asylum in 1867, when they withdrew from the South Side, 



132 



ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 



and were succeeded by the Sisters of St. Francis. These in 
turn gave place to the Sisters of Charity, from Altoona, for 
whom a home was purchased adjoining the pastoral residence 
in June, 1876, which they took possession of on the 8th of 
August of the same year. 

Of the English congregations of the diocese St. John's is 
the second in size, and will number almost, if not quite, 1000 
families. It was at one time the intention to erect a church 
in the eastern part of the South Side, and had it not been for 
the financial crisis of 1873 it would have been done. It is 
needed, and cannot be deferred for any great length of time. 
St. John's congregation will continue to increase with the 
growth of the city. 

ST. Stephen's church, pittsburg. 

When St. Michael's Ecclesiastical Seminary was trans- 
ferred to Glenwood, on the eastern bank of the Monongahela 
River about five miles from its mouth, in September, 1857, a 
chapel was opened for the accommodation of the Catholics 
living in the neighborhood. Prior to that date they heard 
Mass at the Cathedral or at St. John's Church. At first one 
of the larger halls was fitted up for a chapel ; but in 1862, when 
the congregation had increased, an additional wing was built 
to the seminary, the lower story of which became a perma- 
nent chapel. A considerable congregation was soon formed, 
consisting principally of laborers from the Frankstown fur- 
naces and miners from the opposite side of the river at Six 
Mile Ferry. One of the priests connected with the seminary 
was pastor. Soon the congregation became too large for the 
chapel, many families having purchased lots and built in the 
vicinity after the construction of the railroad in 1862. Be- 
sides, it was from the beginning a temporary arrangement, 
and to those acquainted with the requirements of an ecclesias- 
tical seminary by no means desirable. 

To apply a remedy at once to both evils. Rev. S. Wall, 
president of the seminary, purchased a large lot at Grove 
Station, more than half a mile below the seminary, in Febru- 
ary, 1867, as a site for a church. For the next two years 



DEATH OF REV, P. M. WARD. 1 33 

nothing further was done than collecting money to pay for 
the lot ; but at the end of that time Rev. P. M. Ward was 
transferred from Alpsville to the seminary, and appointed 
pastor of the congregation. Work was begun on the new 
church in the summer of 1870, and the corner-stone was laid 
by the Bishop on the 13th of November. The dedication 
did not take place, however, until May 5th, 1872, when it 
was performed by the same prelate with unusual pomp. The 
church, which is brick, is about 90 feet in length by 45 in 
width, and has a short tower at the left front through which 
the entrance is made. The church differs in style from all 
the others in the diocese, but is one of the most beautiful. 
The ceiling follows the pitch of the roof, and is finished in 
wood. The main altar stands in an arched recess, with the 
sacristies on either side. The finish of the interior, especially 
of the woodwork, is in a high style of art. After the comple- 
tion of the building, Father Ward erected a small brick pas- 
toral residence, and removed from the seminary, where he 
had held a professorship for many years ; and it was not 
without feelings of regret on the part of all that he was seen 
to withdraw. But his health was so much impaired by his 
untiring devotion to his many duties that it became necessary 
for him to relinquish part of them. But in the summer of 
1874 it began to decline so rapidly as to excite the liveliest 
apprehensions of his friends ; and despite the skill and atten- 
tion of his physicians he continued to decline, till, after a pro- 
tracted illness, he gave up his pure soul to God on the morn- 
ing of November 26th. The funeral was attended by more 
than fifty priests, and the remains were deposited in St. Mary's 
Cemetery. 

Rev. Patrick Martin Ward was a native of Ireland, but 
was brought to this country by his parents, who emigrated in 
his infancy and settled at Hollidaysburg. Here he spent his 
youth and commenced his studies. At a suitable age he was 
sent to St. Vincent's College, Westmoreland County, where 
he remained until the fall of 1856, when he entered St. Mich- 
ael's Seminary, then opened at Summitville. He came with it 
to Glenwood when the seminary was transferred thither, a 
year later, and in the spring of i860 was sent to Rome to 



134 CHANGE OF PASTORS AT ST. STEPHEN S. 

finish his course in the American College. He was ordained 
by Cardinal Patrizi September iQth^ 1863, but did not return 
to America until the following June. At the opening of the 
September session at the seminary he was appointed Profes- 
sor of Dogmatic Theology and Ecclesiastical History, which 
he continued to teach with but little interruption till within a 
short time before his death. In connection with this he was 
for a time assistant to Father Mullen at St. Peter's Church, 
Allegheny, and was afterwards appointed pastor of Alpsville, 
where he built a church, as we shall see further on. He was 
finally transferred to St. Stephen's, from which he was called 
to his reward in the 37th year of his age. In stature he was a 
little above medium, slender and erect, and in appearance and 
deportment, in mind and heart, he was a model priest. 

Rev. John Ward, younger brother of the deceased, suc- 
ceeded him at St. Stephen's, Avhere he remained until April, 
1876, when it fell to the lot of Father Wall, of the seminary. 
In January, 1878, he gave place to Rev. M. Ryan, and he, in 
July, 1879, to the present pastor, Rev. Daniel Devlin. 

About the year 1866 a lot was purchased in Frankstown, 
about two miles below the seminary, where the greater part 
of the congregation resided ; and a school-house was soon af- 
ter built upon it. A school was opened by a lady teacher, 
and continued until the circumstances of the congregation 
forced it to be closed in the summer of 1876. 

The financial crisis of 1873 fell heavily on St. Stephen's. 
The greater part of the people were thrown out of employ- 
ment, and many of them were forced to go elsewhere ; and 
the church, which was a great undertaking had prosperity 
continued, was left deeply in debt. Not without the greatest 
difficulty, and by means of assistance from other places, will it 
be able to clear itself, and this cannot be for many years. 
The congregation is smaller than it was when the church was 
built, and will number no more perhaps than one hundred 
and fifty families, few of which are in independent circum- 
stances. But it must increase in time and even become large. 

The territory embraced within the congregation was re- 
ceived into the city January ist, 1867, and now forms the 
eastern wards. 



ST. AGNES' CHURCH, PITTSBURG, 135 



ST. AGNES' CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

St. Agnes* was the first of the congregations more re^ 
cently formed from that of the Cathedral. The impulse 
given to trade and manufacture during the war and immedi- 
ately after its close accelerated the building up of all the sub- 
urbs, but of none more rapidly than of Soho and Oakland. 
The Catholic population being thus increased, and the dis- 
tance to the Cathedral being considerable, the people re- 
quested that a church should be erected in their midst. Their 
request was complied with by the rector of the Cathedral, 
who purchased a site near Oakland in the spring of 1868. 
But the ground, being too steep for building purposes, was re- 
jected. In April of the same year Rev. James Holland, then 
assistant at the Cathedral, was appointed pastor of the pro- 
spective congregation. His first step was to lease a small 
building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Soho Street, which 
he fitted up for a temporary church. While organizing the 
congregation he lodged at the Cathedral. But failing health 
obliged him to seek a less arduous mission, and he was succeed- 
ed July 20th by Rev. W. A. Burke, also of the Cathedral. 
Adopting the plan of his predecessor, he purchased a lot on 
the right of Fifth Avenue, almost two miles east of the Point 
and about four squares from the Monongahela. Of the 
buildings, all of which were old and ill-looking, he fitted up 
one for a church, another for a school, and a third for a resi- 
dence, which purpose the last still serves. The lot is not 
level, but is the best that could be had in a central locality. 

The congregation increased not only by additions to the 
laboring class, which the extensive iron-works on the bank 
of the Monongahela invited, but also by accessions of the 
wealthier citizens, who, leaving the central parts of the city, 
built residences at Oakland east of the church. But Father 
Burke's health also failing, he was succeeded November, 1871, 
by Rev. P. Kerr, from the Cathedral. The newly appointed 
pastor, who had not been in good health for two or three 
years before, gradually sank under the burden imposed upon 
him, and gave evidence that his career in the sacred ministry 



136 DEATH OF REV. P. KERR. 

was rapidly drawing to a close. In September, 1872, he set 
out for Loretto Springs, near Loretto, to perform the exer- 
cises of the annual retreat of the clergy, although hardly able 
to leave his room. The fatigue of travelling and the change 
of air proved fatal, and, surrounded by his brethren and for- 
tified by the Sacraments of the Church, he calmly expired on 
the 23d of September, in the afternoon, in the 41st year of his 
age. 

Rev. Patrick Kerr was born at Donoughmore, county 
Donegal, Ireland, but emigrated to this country about ten 
years before his death, and continued the studies he had com- 
menced in his native land. After surmounting greater diffi- 
culties than fall to the lot of most poor students, he was or- 
dained in the seminary chapel September 5th, 1865. He 
was first appointed pastor of the church at Murrinsville, But- 
ler County, where he remained until May of the following 
year, when he was transferred to St. Joseph's Church, Sharps- 
burg. In February, 1867, he came to the Cathedral, and 
thence, as we have seen, to St. Agnes'. His remains repose 
in St. Mary's Cemetery. 

For several months the church was without a regular pas- 
tor, but on the 17th of January, 1873, Father Holland re- 
turned and resumed the pastoral duties. He immediately 
turned his attention to the erection of a new church, which 
the growth of the congregation imperatively demanded. But 
the raising of Fifth Avenue in front, and the lowering of 
Forbes Street to the rear of the lot, greatly increased the natu- 
ral inclination of the ground ; and while the congregation re- 
ceived but a trifling compensation for damages, it was assessed 
heavily for improvements, according to the principle in vogue 
in those days. The corner-stone of the new building was laid 
by the Bishop August 24th, 1873. The inclination of the 
ground gives the church two basements, one of which ex- 
tends half the length of the building, making commodious 
school-rooms; while the other extends the entire length, form- 
ing a spacious hall. These basements were finished before 
the end of. the year, and the upper one was blessed by the 
Bishop, December 28th. A temporary roof was put upon 
the building, and nothing more was or will be done until the 



ST. MARY OF MERCYS CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 



137 



debt shall have been paid and a pastoral residence erected, as 
the basement is capable of accommodating almost as many 
persons as the church will when finished. When completed 
the church will be 130 feet long by 60 wide, with a steeple, 
and will be, as the basements are, of frame, from the fact that 
the ground is not sufficiently firm to sustain a brick building. 

From the date at which the congregation was organized a 
school was conducted by lay teachers until September, 1878, 
when it passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy, who 
come daily from St. Mary's Convent, Webster Avenue. The 
parish is as large as one priest is capable of attending. Dur- 
ing Father Holland's absence in Rome, in the latter part of 
1877, it was under the pastoral care of Rev. M. Shede. On 
his return, the pastor, at his request, was transferred to La- 
trobe with a view of improving his health, and Rev. S. Wall 
succeeded him. In June of the following year he gave place 
to the present pastor, Rev. James P. Tahaney. 

St. Agnes' congregation is constantly increasing, and its 
prospects are more flattering than those of any other parish 
in the city. 

ST. MARY OF MERCY'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

This congregation occupies the portion of land lying between 
the two rivers at their confluence, which has long been known 
by the familiar name of ^' the Point." It was, as the reader will 
remember, the site of the fortification commenced by Captain 
Trent in January, 1754, and also of Fort Duquesne. In the 
latter a chapel existed from 1754 to 1758, under the title of 
" The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin of the Beautiful 
River," and in it the first religious services of any kind in 
the city were held. This chapel dates from a period of more 
than fifty years prior to the organization of the first Catholic 
congregation — St. Patrick's — and twenty-eight years before 
that of the first Protestant congregation of Pittsburg — the 
German Evangelical Protestant, which claims to have been 
the first and dates from the year 1782. It was also the site of 
the first Catholic settlements m the city, and the spot where 
Mass was first offered up. 



138 " THE POINTr 

A tract of land situated here is owned by an Englishman, 
by whom it is leased in long terms of years and in small lots 
to persons who build their own houses upon it. It is the 
most densely populated section of the city, and it would not 
be difficult to find at least one hundred families who occupy 
but a single room each, and that perhaps no more than twelve 
by fourteen feet. The people are, with very few exceptions, 
Irish Catholics from county Galway, Ireland, who settled 
here about twenty-five years ago, and the Irish language is 
spoken more generally here perhaps than in any other place 
out of their native isle. As an evidence of this it may be said 
that many of the children born and raised here speak it flu- 
ently, while not a few, both men and women, who have lived 
here for ten or fifteen years cannot make themselves under- 
stood in any other. In their attachment to the faith of their 
fathers they are no less remarkable. But their practice did 
not on all occasions correspond with their belief ; for, living 
but a short distance from the Cathedral, to which they , be- 
longed, they did not in all cases comply with their religious 
duties as the laws of the Church require. This may be attri- 
buted in a measure to poverty, which prevented them from 
appearing as they wished. 

The rector of the Cathedral, wishing to consult their spirit- 
ual advantage and remove every excuse, purchased a large 
dwelling-house on First Street in September, 1868, which 
he fitted up for a chapel by removing the partitions, putting 
in pews, etc. It was dedicated by the Bishop, under the 
title of " Our Lady of Consolation," November 29th. • But 
this step was taken without a full knowledge of the number 
and requirements of the people, and the room was soon found 
to be unable to accommodate one fifth of the congregation : 
more were hearing Mass in the alley before the door than in 
the chapel. A dwelling to the rear of the chapel and fronting 
on Fort Street was immediately purchased and treated as the 
first had been. The space between the two was built in, part 
of the work done a few weeks before was now torn away, and 
the whole when completed was dedicated by the Bishop 
April nth, 1869. During this time the church was visited by 
Rev. Joseph Coffee, from the Cathedral, whose acquaintance 



DEATH OF REV. J. A. O'ROURKE, 139 

with the Irish language eminently fitted him for the place. 
Irish sermons were now as frequent as English, and perhaps 
more frequent ; and the novelty of it did not fail to attract 
the curious from other parts of the city, and the " Point 
Chapel " became famous. 

Fr. Coffee was succeeded soon after the dedication by 
Rev. Jas. Nolan, who remained until forced by declining 
health to withdraw in the following March. Rev. J. A. 
O'Rourke was appointed pastor April 23d, 1870. Upon tak- 
ing charge of the congregation he rented a house for a resi- 
dence near the chapel ; for prior to this the priest had lodged 
at the episcopal residence. 

Little change took place beyond a gradual improvement 
in the religious tone of many of the people, until the end of 
November, 1871, when Fr. O'Rourke was taken sick. After 
lingering six weeks he died in the evening of January 8th, 
1872, being in the thirty-third year of his age. At the earnest 
request of his parents, who reside in Cleveland, O., his re- 
mains were taken to that city and deposited in the family 
vault. 

Rev. John Aloysius O'Rourke was born in county 
Clare, Ireland, but was brought to this country by his parents, 
who took up their residence at Cleveland. After prosecuting 
his studies in various institutions, he finally completed his 
course in theology at St. Michael's Seminary, where he was 
ordained December 4th, 1865. He was immediately appointed 
pastor of St. Mary's Church, Kittanning, where he remained 
until transferred to the Point. The lasting good which he 
effected in both congregations is the best tribute which can 
be paid to his zeal and piety. 

Fr. O'Rourke was succeeded by Rev. M. F, Devlin, from 
the Cathedral, whose health, at all times feeble, unfitted him 
for so arduous a mission. He soon gave way, and was obliged 
during a great part of his time to commit the care of his flock 
to other hands. His life was terminated by a happy death 
December 28th, 1873, and his remains were interred in St. 
Mary's Cemetery. 

Rev. Mark Francis Devlin Avas a native of Alleghen}^ 
County, having been born a few miles south-east of Pittsburg, 



I40 DEATH OF REV. M. F. DEVLIN. 

where his parents had settled some years before on their 
emigration from Ireland. His studies, after having been in- 
terrupted at times by ill-health, were completed at the dio- 
cesan seminary, where he was ordained February ist, 1866. 
He was stationed at the Cathedral until his transfer to the 
Point. He was a classmate of Fr. O'Rourke and one year 
his senior, and was brother of Rev. Daniel Devlin, who had 
died a few years before at the Cathedral. 

Fr. Devlin was succeeded by the writer of these pages, 
whose tenure of office still continues. The chapel, which was 
never very prepossessing in either external or internal appear- 
ance, did not improve with age. To secure a more becoming 
place for the offering up of the adorable Sacrifice, Bishop 
Tuigg bought the Ames Methodist Episcopal Church, corner 
of Third Avenue and Ferry Street, May 12th, 1876, at a cost of 
$12,975. The necessary alterations were made in the interior, 
and the church was dedicated by the Bishop September 24th, 
and from the feast of the day it was placed under the invoca- 
tion of St. Mary of Mercy. The church is a very substantial 
brick structure, 72 feet in length by 55 in width, and is 14 
feet to the ceiling, it being the first story only of the original 
plan. But, like the old chapel, it was much too small to ac- 
commodate the congregation at two Masses, and many were 
obliged to attend the Cathedral. 

Wishing to perpetuate the memory of so important an 
event as that of the chapel of Fort Duquesne and the religious 
associations connected with it, the pastor of St. Mary of 
Mercy's had a beautiful memorial side-altar erected in the 
church in the summer of 1878, upon which he placed a Munich 
statue of the Mother of God, and which, in the absence of the 
Bishop, he blessed under the title of '' The Assumption of 
the Blessed Virgin of the Beautiful River," September 24th 
of that year. Some relic of the old chapel would have been 
very desirable to place on this memorial altar, but it could 
not be hoped for, as the French had set fire to the fort when 
they abandoned it, and all that was in it was devoured by the 
flames. But the Bishop visited the church March 14th, 1879, 
and, in virtue of the faculties granted by the Holy See to pre- 
lates in this and other missionary countries, declared the 



ST. MALACHYS CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 141 

memorial altar a privileged one, a favor that is granted to but 
few. 

A brick pastoral residence was built on the lot adjoining 
the church in the fall and winter of 1878 ; for prior to this 
time the pastor had occupied a rented house. 

From the beginning a school was conducted by lay 
teachers in the rooms on the second floor of the old chapel, 
and when the present church was purchased the former 
was converted into a school. The lay teachers were replaced 
in September, 1876, by four Sisters of Mercy from St. Mary's 
Convent, Webster Avenue, who continue to conduct the 
school. The congregation is the poorest in the city in the 
goods of this world, but is rich in treasures of a higher 
order. Since the opening of the new church the congrega- 
tion has increased considerably and will now number nine- 
teen hundred souls. The better to accommodate them, the 
pastor procured the services of one of the Fathers of the 
Holy Ghost from the Catholic College, to assist on Satur- 
days and to offer a third Mass on Sundays and feasts, be- 
ginning with September, 1879. The future increase of the 
congregation must be insignificant. 

ST. MALACHY'S church, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

The last of the congregations cut off from the Cathedral, or 
that can be cut off, is composed of the families residing on the 
South Side between St. John's and St. James' churches, and 
is composed almost exclusively of emigrants from Ireland, 
who find employment in the extensive iron and glass manufac- 
tories. The place has long been known b}^ the familiar name 
of Limerick. Living at a distance from the Cathedral, and 
being unable on account of their poverty to dress as they 
wished, many of the people were not so regular in complying 
with their religious duties as could be desired. Seeing that a 
church in their midst would be productive of good, the rec- 
tor of the Cathedral purchased two small houses adjoining 
each other near the spot now occupied by the church ; and 
having torn out the partitions and fitted them up for a chapel, 
he dedicated them, under the invocation of St. Malachy, Sep- 



142 CHANGE OF PASTORS. 

tember 26th, 1869. The chapel was known as " The Shanties," 
and was attended by one of the priests of the Cathedral. 
Soon a change for the better was wrought among the people, 
for it is well known that Limerick had in those days a most 
unenviable reputation. 

Rev. C. V. Neeson was appointed resident pastor late in 
the fall. He purchased a piece of ground on both sides of 
Carson Street, extending from the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and 
St. Louis Railroad to the river, as the site for a new church. 
The house on the property was used, as it still is, for the pas- 
toral residence. The church was begun, and the corner-stone 
was laid by Father Hickey, V.G., May 15th, 1870. About 
this time Father Neeson was succeeded by Rev. Michael 
Murphy. While actively engaged in the erection of the 
church, and at the moment of its completion, he was trans- 
ferred to Irwin Station, and St. Malachy's passed into the 
hands of Rev. M. J. Mitchell September 12th, 1871. The 
church was dedicated by the Bishop on the 24th of the same 
month. It is a frame building 100 feet in length by 45 in 
width, with basement under the whole, and is surmounted by 
a belfry. The ceiling rises from the sides toward the centre, 
and the whole interior with its gallery and three altars is fin- 
ished in a chaste and simple style. But it stands in the midst 
of iron-works, and is almost constantly enveloped in a dense 
cloud of smoke. 

On the 2oth of December, 1871, Father Mitchell retired 
on account of ill-health, and was succeeded by the present 
pastor. Rev. James A. Cosgrave. Little remained for him to 
accomplish in the temporal order beyond liquidating the 
heavy debt contracted in the purchase of the property and 
erection of the church ; and this has proved to be enough. 
He also built side-altars and had the church frescoed. In 
the summer of 1874 he enlarged and improved the pastoral 
residence. During the following summer he built a hall on 
the lots at the opposite side of Carson Street, which serves 
for lectures, etc. 

The congregation has not increased in numbers, and in- 
deed will never increase, for it occupies a narrow strip of 
ground between the river on the one side and on the other 



CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF THE MOUNT, 



143 



Mount Washington, which rises almost perpendicularly 
about four hundred feet. It has rather decreased, and will 
continue to decrease in the future. It will number at pres- 
ent perhaps two hundred families. 

After the erection of the church on Mount Washington in 
1874, until it was made a separate parish three years later. 
Father Cosgrave had an assistant. 

A school by lay teachers was begun with the organization 
of the congregation, but it passed into the hands of the Sis- 
ters of Mercy from St. Mary's Convent, Webster Avenue, in 
1873, and continues to the present time under their charge. 

CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF THE MOUNT. 

Mount Washington, as the hill at the western extremity of 
the South Side is called, was so named because it is supposed 
to be the spot from which George Washington first viewed 
the site of the city of Pittsburg on his visit toward the close 
of 1753. In the season of prosperity it shared with the other 
suburbs of the city, and was rapidly built up for the most 
part by laborers and tradesmen anxious to secure homes for 
themselves. In this way a number of Catholic families, 
American, Irish, and German, came together, and, being un- 
willing to descend the hill to hear Mass, proposed to build 
themselves a church. Lots were purchased a short distance 
back from the brow of the mount, in the autumn of 1873, ^^d 
the erection of the church was undertaken. The corner-stone 
was laid by the Bishop October 26th. It was not, however, 
until October i8th of the following year that the church was 
finished and ready for dedication. On that day it was dedi- 
cated by the Bishop under the appropriate title of St. Mary 
of the Mount. It is an unassuming frame building, 70 feet in 
length by 30 in width, and on account of the inclination of 
the ground upon which it stands has a basement. A school 
was opened in this, but was soon after discontinued owing to 
the financial difficulties of the congregation. The church was 
attended from St. Malachy's until April, 1877, when Rev. P. 
M'Mahon was appointed resident pastor. After a year he was 
succeeded by the present incumbent, Rev. Edward Brennan. 



144 



MOUNT WASHINGTON. 



The congregation will number at present about one hun- 
dred and twenty -five families ; but it is destined to increase 
more or less rapidly, according to the prosperity of the city, 
of which Mount Washington is one of the most beautiful 
suburbs. Its elevation gives it a commanding view, and its 
south-western position places it almost wholly out of reach of 
the city's smoke. 



CHAPTER X. 

GERMAN CHURCHES OF PITTSBURG AND ALLEGHENY. 

The advent of German Catholics in Pittsburg — Formation of a German congre- 
gation — St. Patrick's a German church — St. Mary's Chapel — Establishment 
of the Redemptorist Fathers in Pittsburg — St. Philomena's Church — Forma- 
tion of new congregations — St. Michael's Church — The Passionist Fathers — 
St. Joseph's Church, Mount Oliver — St. Martin's Church — St. Peter's Church. 

ST. philomena's GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

St. Philomena's is the mother German congregation of 
Pittsburg and of Western Pennsylvania. Its history is iden- 
tified with that of the German Catholics of the city and 
vicinity, and will, for that reason, require to be treated at 
considerable length. German settlers were found in Pitts- 
burg at a very early period. The first colony of which there 
is authentic record settled here before the year 1780; but 
the fact that the leader of the colony was a Moravian, Rev. 
David Zeisberger, would lead to the conclusion that no 
Catholics were among its members. Besides, the greater 
part of the colony did not remain, but with their leader went 
further west and settled in Beaver County, which also they 
left after a short time. It is probable that German Catholics 
came intermingled with others of the same faith, as they were 
found in all the other colonies, with perhaps one exception. 
They were always, however, in the minority in Pittsburg. 
It is equally probable that Rev. F. X. O'Brien, the first 
resident priest in the city, was sufficiently acquainted with 
.their language to minister to their most pressing spiritual 
necessities. But when Fr. M'Guire took up his residence in 
the city, in the spring of 1820, they had all the advantages 
that could be desired ; for, although an Irishman by birth, he 
had spent much of his life in Germany and was master of the 



146 THE FIRST GERMAN CHURCH IN PITTSBURG. 

language. The number of Germans, however, appears to 
have been insignificant until about 1825 ; and all the Catholics 
of the city and vicinity, of whatever nationality, heard Mass 
at St. Patrick's Church until the erection of St. Paul's. 

The affairs of the Germans remained unchanged until the 
death of Fr. M'Guire in July, 1833, except that after St. 
Paul's was undertaken they contributed towards its erection 
in the hope, as they had been promised, of having St. Patrick's 
for themselves on the completion of the former. Rev. A. F. 
Van de Wejer, a Belgian monk of the Dominican Order and 
chaplain of the nuns of St. Clare, appears to have assisted at 
intervals in ministering to them ; but toward the end of the 
year 1833 Rev. Francis Masquelet, an Alsacian, came to 
Pittsburg as their first regularly appointed pastor. Writing 
of him in a letter dated January 14th, 1834, Bishop Kenrick 
says : '' He aids Fr. O'Reilly in the work of the ministry 
principally by taking the charge of the Germans, who are 
very numerous, and of some French who are there." From 
an account of a visitation by the same prelate I learn that at 
Easter of the same year there were 600 German communi- 
cants. But in addition to the Germans of the city, Fr. 
Masquelet visited many of the surrounding settlements, in 
some instances at fifty miles' distance. 

After the dedication of St. Paul's, May 4th, 1834, the Ger- 
mans took possession of St. Patrick's ; for which, in accord- 
ance with an arrangement approved by the Bishop, they were 
to pay an annual rent of $300 to St. Paul's until it should be 
out of debt. They immediately set about the improvement and 
embellishment of the interior of the church, — for after its en- 
largement it had not been finished, — and also rented and fur- 
nished a house for their pastor. Rev. Fr. Stolschmidt came 
about this time to assist Fr. Masquelet ; but he soon after de- 
parted. Seeing their energy, and being himself sorely pressed 
for money to make payments on St. Paul's, Fr. O'Reilly urged 
the Germans to purchase St. Patrick's for $6000. This they, 
refused to do ; and when he pressed the affair with no little 
earnestness, a division sprung up between those who were in 
favor of holding the church on the conditions approved by 
the Bishop and those who were determined to abandon it 



THE FACTORY CHURCH. 



147 



altogether and find a place of worship independent of it. 
And now begins a period in which *' there was no king in 
Israel," and in which, with the very meagre reliable data and 
the host of conflicting traditions, it is difficult to arrive at 
historic truth. Fr. Masquelet and that part of the congrega- 
tion which preferred to abandon St. Patrick's sought another 
place. After some time, during which they still held their 
former church, they determined to occupy what was after- 
wards known as '' the factory church." The part which this 
building plays in our history entitles it to more than a passing 
notice. It was originally a cotton factory with a number of 
small buildings adjoining it, and stood at the corner of Liberty 
and Factory (now Fourteenth) streets ;* and was owned and 
operated by Messrs. Adams & Scott. The main building was 
brick, and was sold in 1835 or '6 to Jacob Schneider. Fr. 
Masquelet and a board of trustees composed of the leading 
Germans purchased the building, fitting up the second floor 
of it for a church, which they called St. Mary's. Fr. Mas- 
quelet soon after withdrew from the city and from the diocese. 
The trustees were not able to meet their liabilities, as two 
suspicious sheriff writs, now before me and dated December 
8th, 1837, amply testify. In these the committee is styled the 
'' Trustees of the German Roman Catholic Church in the 
Northern Liberties of Pittsburg." f The matter was finally 
settled by arbitration. I have not been able to learn whether 
St. Mary's had a pastor at this time or not. The tenure of 
office was sometimes very short both in it and St. Patrick's ; 
and the names even of some incumbents have not been handed 
down to us. Feeling ran very high between the two parties 
of St. Patrick's and St. Mary's, and the newspapers were fre- 
quently made the medium by which statements were circu- 
lated which, whether true, exaggerated, or false, were very 
injurious to the cause of religion, as I learn from the papers 
themselves and from a letter of Bishop Kenrick's.:]: Upon the 

* The numbered streets of Pittsburg are those which run at right angles from 
the Allegheny River, beginning at the Point. 

f This section of the city was then and is yet better known as " Bayardstown," 
so named in honor of Stephen Bayard, a wealthy German residing there. 

X This and the other letters referred to in the text are now in my possession. 



148 ARRIVAL OF THE REDEMPTORIST FATHERS, 

temporary adjustment of its difficulties, St. Mary's was pro- 
vided with a pastor. By a letter of Bishop Kenrick's of 
March ist, 1838, addressed to *^ Rev. Henry Herzog, Eiser- 
man's Settlement, Venango Co., Pa.," he is transferred to " the 
town of Bayardstown, near Pittsburg," and receives the nec- 
essary faculties " for using as a public oratory a room fitted 
up in his house by Joseph Schneider." The Bishop further 
states that " Rev. N. Balleis, a most humble and pious Bene- 
dictine monk, will be pastor of St. Patrick's." The latter 
appears to have been preceded by Rev. Benj. Bayer, who had 
been sent as assistant to Fr. Masquelet shortly before his 
departure, but who preferred to officiate at St. Patrick's. 
But the date of his arrival and departure are unknown. By 
a letter of the same prelate, dated October ist, 1838, Fr. 
Herzog is transferred to Reading, and the church is closed 
without ceremony as being, under existing circumstances, an 
unsuitable place for offering up the Holy Sacrifice. Fr. Bal- 
leis had left Pittsburg early in the summer. 

Fortunately a spiritual guide was soon found in the person 
of Rev. Fr. Prost, C.SS.R., to whom the Bishop confided 
the congregation, and who was such as fully to supply its 
wants. He came from Norwalk, O., arriving in August, 1838, 
a date Avhich marks the advent of the Fathers of the Congre- 
gation of Our Most Holy Redeemer, or Redemptorists, as 
they are commonly called, into Western Pennsylvania. He 
took possession of St. Patrick's, and no sooner had he entered 
upon his pastoral duties than a new era dawned for the Ger- 
man Cathohcs of Pittsburg. Gradually he gained their 
entire confidence and united them under himself as their 
spiritual head. A part of the opposition from St. Mary's 
joined him after the departure of Fr. Herzog, but a part still 
held out. The church was a burden on the shoulders of the 
trustees, and with the consent of the Bishop, as one of them 
informed me, they sought a pastor. That member went to 
Baltimore and Georgetown to the Jesuit fathers, and letters 
were also written to Lebanon, Ky., answers to which, dated 
February i8th, 1839, refusing the request are now before me. 
Finally all became united under Fr. Prost, who was joined 
soon after his arrival by another member of the congregation. 



ST. FHILOMENA'S CHURCH. 



149 



The propriety of abandoning St. Patrick's and erecting an- 
other church for themselves became daily more apparent. 
After spending considerable time in looking for a place, Fr. 
Prost at length determined to take "the factory" with the 
buildings attached to it. It was purchased in 1839. St. Pat- 
rick's was now abandoned, and was reoccupied by the Eng- 
lish, as we have seen, in the following year. 

Rev. Fathers Tschenhens and Chackert, C.SS.R., ar- 
rived in the autumn of 1840, and the former was appomted 
superior of the monastery of the congregation erected in the 
city. Father Prost withdrew from Pittsburg, and was soon 
after elected provincial of the order in the United States. 
After receiving Rev. J. H. Neuman, afterwards Bishop of 
Philadelphia, into the order, November 30th, Father Tschen- 
hens also took his departure, leaving him to take his place, 
while Father Chackert visited the German missions in the 
vicinity of the city. 

The original factory chapel was occupied by the congre- 
gation while preparations were being made to erect a large 
church. The foundations were commenced, and the corner- 
stone was laid on the feast of Corpus Christi, 1842. It was 
the first ceremony of the kind in a German congregation in 
the western part of the State, and was attended with that 
magnificent display for which the Germans are noted. To 
increase the effect, two companies of armed and uniformed 
militia took part in the procession and afterwards occupied 
prominent places on the grounds. Cannon were also planted 
one the cliff overlooking the spot, and were fired at intervals. 
Francis S. Shunk, then a lawyer in the city and afterwards 
Governor of the State, was, as we shall see, a conspicuous 
figure. Rev. M. Alig preached in German and Rev. Joseph 
F. Deane in English, and in the absence of a Bishop the 
corner-stone was laid by Father Carteyvels, superior of the 
monastery, amid the booming of cannon and firing of mus- 
ketry. The ceremony took place in the forenoon, and Avas 
followed by a solemn Mass, and that by a public dinner, at 
both of which Mr. Shunk was present. This circumstance 
would be undeserving of attention were it not for the capital 
afterwards made of it, and the light it sheds on the political 



150 THE CATHOLICS AND THE PUBLIC, 

Status of the times in relation to Catholicity. Two years 
later, when Mr. Shunk became the Democratic candidate for 
Governor of the State, the Gazette, the official organ of the 
opposite party, paraded it before the public with due flourish 
of trumpets. It was also asserted that the American flag had 
been spread on the ground in front of the corner-stone, and 
that Mr. Shunk and the clergy had trodden upon it to afford 
a practical illustration of the doctrine that the Church is 
superior to the State. I have examined the Gazette for 1844, 
and have found it teeming with references to the part played 
by Mr. Shunk on this occasion. As an illustration of the 
bigotry of the times, the following is taken from a long list of 
" Things to be Remembered :" 

"That Francis S. Shunk, while a candidate for the nomi- 
nation of Governor pandered to religious prejudice by walk- 
ing in a Catholic procession at the laying of the corner-stone of 
the Catholic Cathedral (?) in Pittsburg, and that he was seen 
by hundreds of the citizens. He afterwards dined with the 
priests, and was toasted as ' Francis Shunk, the next Gover- 
nor.' " 

The rapid increase of the German Catholic population will 
be seen from the fact that Bishop O'Connor places the num- 
ber of souls belonging to St. Philomena's congregation at 
4000 at the time of his elevation to the See of Pittsburg. 

The work on the new church was pushed forward with 
energy, but not after the contract system of our day. On 
the contrary, it carries the mind back to the ages of Faith, 
when money was scarce, but willing hearts and strong arms 
were ready to lend the assistance that money must otherwise 
procure. That a people so destitute of worldly means should 
erect so majestic an edifice is a matter of wonder to those 
who are unacquainted with the power of faith over the 
Catholic heart. St. Philomena's — for so the new church was 
to be named — is, more than any other in the diocese, a monu- 
ment not to the wealth but to the faith of the congregation. 
When the work was undertaken the greater part of the con- 
gregation were unable to pay any considerable subscription in 
money, but offered their services to labor. Farmers from the 
country came, in some instances six miles, with their teams to 



DEDICATION OF ST. PHILOMENA'S. 15 1 

work at the excavation or draw stone, brick, etc.; in short, to 
do wilhngly and earnestly whatever was to be done. Many a 
day the people swarmed like bees around the church. Not a 
few of those who came from the opposite side of the rivers 
were so poor as to be compelled to beg from the church the 
few cents necessary to pay their bridge toll. How different 
was this from the disunion that had heretofore reigned to 
so lamentable an extent ! 

Father Neuman was appointed superior of the monas- 
tery and pastor of the church — two offices which have al- 
ways been united in the same person — March 5th, 1844, ^.nd 
remained until January 25th, 1847. ^^ enlarged the plan of 
the building, giving it its present proportions. The walls 
were built around " the factory," leaving the people to occu- 
py it as long as possible. The lot between Penn Avenue and 
the church upon which the schools now stand was leased 
and afterwards purchased from Mr. Scott ; and a temporary 
church was erected when the chapel had to be torn down. 
A monastery of the same kind was also built for the com- 
munity until the present one should be completed. At length 
the church, though not finished, was sufficiently advanced for 
dedication ; and preparations were made on a grand scale for 
the ceremony. The dedication was performed by Bishop 
O'Connor November 4th, 1846. A procession of the Catho- 
lics of the city formed at St. Paul's, and moved to the new 
church, which they filled to overflowing, while the streets 
without were also thronged to a considerable distance. A 
sermon was preached in German by Rev. Clement Hammer, 
of Cincinnati, and one in English by Rt. Rev. Bishop Whelan, 
then of Richmond. A description of the church will be found 
further on. 

St. Mary's congregation. Pine Creek, had already been 
formed from St. Philomena's, and about this time St. Michael's, 
South Side, was also cut off. And here it may be remarked 
that almost all the congregations formed from the parent 
church were organized and at first attended by the Redemp- 
torist fathers. 

Some time before the completion of the church Father 
Neuman turned his attention to the erection of the monas- 



152 FORMATION OF OTHER CONGREGATIONS. 

tery ; and the spacious building that stands to the rear of the 
church, on Liberty Street, is the result of his labors. It 
would appear that St. Philomena's and the Redemptorist 
Order in Pittsburg are more deeply indebted to him than to 
any other person ; and we are not surprised to find that he 
so won the esteem of Bishop O'Connor as to cause that pre- 
late to recommend him as a fit candidate for the See of 
Philadelphia. The monastery, though comfortable, breathes 
the spirit of poverty so dear to the heart of St. Liguori ; and 
between this poverty and the richness of the house of God 
adjoining there is an evidence of faith, and the practical re- 
sult of it, that is truly edifying. The temporary church and 
monastery were now torn down, and attention was directed 
to the completion of the church. During all this time, it is 
needless to remark, the congregation had been increasing; 
and although two others had already been formed from it, 
there were still sufficient members to fill the spacious edifice 
at several Masses. An addition of brick was now built upon 
the tower which raised it to the height of one hundred and 
sixty feet. About the year 1861 Rev. Joseph Wessel, then 
pastor of the church, caused the pyramidal spire of iron, and 
the cross by which it is surmounted, to be erected, bringing 
the top of the cross to the unusual height of two hundred and 
thirty-five feet. This iron spire is something unique in 
architecture, there being but few like it in the country. A 
clock was next placed in the tower, and to crown all a chime 
of five bells was procured and blessed by Bishop O'Connor 
April 29th, i860, which was one of the last solemn functions 
performed by that illustrious prelate before laying aside the 
episcopal insignia to assume the humble habit of the Jesuit 
novice. 

In the mean time the German Catholics residing in Alle- 
gheny had been cut off in 1848 to form St. Mary's congrega- 
tion, and in 1857 those on the hill to form the congregation of 
Holy Trinity, and those of East Liberty to form that of Sts. 
Peter and Paul. St. Augustine's congregation, Thirty-seventh 
Street, was cut off in 1863. 

St. Philomena's Church is 165 feet in length by 65 in width ; 
is without a transept, and has the tower in the centre in front. 



DESCRIPTION OF ST. PHIIOMENA'S. 153 

The ceiling of the nave is 60 feet high, and that of the aisles 
about 40, and the whole adheres strictly to the requisites of 
the Gothic style. The nave and isles are separated by two 
rows of pillars, of five each. When Rev. Lewis Dold was 
appointed pastor, in 1865, he set about the completion of 
the interior of the church, which had been left at first in 
an unfinished state. The pillars were in the beginning slen- 
der and of stone. But this material was found to imbibe so 
much dampness as to discolor the paint. To remedy this 
the pastor had them encased with lath and plastered with a 
fluted finish, and the tops furnished with imitation capitals 
— for the Gothic style has no real capitals — ornamented with 
cherubs and clusters of grapes. The ceiling was richly finished 
in stucco, and the level spaces of the walls of the clerestory 
enriched with sacred emblems in bas-relief. Every part, in a 
word, upon which a graceful and appropriate decoration 
could be placed was made to give evidence of the presence 
of a skilful master. Members of the congregation, anxious to 
second their zealous pastor, donated superb stained-glass 
windows. The gallery, supported by clustered iron pillars, 
contains a large and powerful organ, and the choir of the 
church has always been regarded as the best Catholic choir 
in the city. 

Entering the sanctuary, Fr. Dold erected a superb high 
altar of wood after the best Gothic model, which in point of 
style and finish it would be difficult to surpass. The exquisite 
tracery is richly gilded, and contains twenty-seven niches in 
two tiers, in which as many statuettes of saints are placed. 
The altar-steps and communion-rail are of marble. The 
sanctuary also contains Hfe-size statues of the tAvelve Apostles 
on brackets on the walls. The two side-altars are also of 
wood. That on the right is dedicated to Our Lady of Per- 
petual Help, and has placed upon it a copv of the miraculous 
picture at Rome which has touched the original and to which 
a plenary indulgence is granted on certain conditions for a 
fixed number of years. Over the arch that spans the sanctu- 
ary of this altar is a statue of the archangel St. Michael. The 
other altar is dedicated to the Holy Family, and contains the 
statues of its members. Over the altar at the back is a 



154 



ST. PHILOMENA'S SCHOOL. 



statue of St. Liguori in full pontificals, and over the arch is 
one of the Guardian Angel. The patroness of the church, St. 
Philomena, is represented in a statue of rare workmanship 
over the arch of triumph. A feature of this church that is 
deserving not only of commendation but much more of imita- 
tion is that the doors are so hinged as to open outward, which 
precludes the possibility of their closing and barring egress 
in case of a panic. A matter of so much importance should 
be enforced by law on all churches and halls in which large 
numbers of persons are accustomed to assemble. A sad ex- 
perience should have taught the world enough by this time. 

There are few churches in the county capable of being 
compared with St. Philomena's in point of purity and harmony 
of architectural style and appropriateness of the decorations 
that are added to increase the effect; and the stranger who 
visits the city without entering this magnificent temple has 
deprived himself of a treat not to be seen in half a dozen 
cities of the country. 

If there be one trait more conspicuous than another in 
the character of our German coreligionists, it is their ardent 
devotion to the cause of religious education. With them it 
is second in importance only to the profession of their faith 
itself ; and the German congregation must be very small and 
poor, as we shall have ample evidence in these pages, that will 
not be found able and willing to support a parochial school. 
This important accessory to the church claimed the early at- 
tention of both the pastors and people of St. Philomena's ; 
and a school was opened in the basement of " the factory" 
long before the erection of the present school buildings. The 
lots on Penn Avenue, where the schools now stand, were pur- 
chased by Rev. Jos. Miiller, and that part of the building 
occupied by the girls' department and the Sisters was com- 
menced about the year 1848. In that year a colony of School 
Sisters of Notre Dame arrived from Baltimore and took 
charge of the girls, who prior to that date had been under the 
care of lay teachers. The boys were also taught by lay in- 
structors until i860, when a number of Brothers of Mary Im- 
maculate, from Ohio, was secured as teachers. To afford 
them suitable lodging, as well as to accommodate the increas- 



ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH. 155 

ing' number of children, Fr. Dold about the year 1864 erected 
that part of the school-house that stands at the corner of Penn 
Avenue and Fourteenth Street, thus finishing all the buildings 
necessary for the congregation. The school-house, which ap- 
pears to be but one building, is in reality two having no com- 
munication with each other. In St. Philomena's schools, as in 
those of all the German congregations of the two dioceses, it 
may be stated once for all, the German language is taught 
during one half the day and the English during the other. 

St. Philomena's congregation, although not of a great age, 
was originally the nucleus of what is now fifteen German 
congregations that were at different times cut off from it or 
formed from those that were cut off. Two of these are much 
larger than the parent congregation, and two more are about 
equal to it in numbers. St. Philomena's is not so large as is 
generally supposed, and will not count more perhaps than five 
hundred famihes. This decrease is due to the fact that while 
congregations are cut off from all parts there can be but little 
increase from purely internal sources ; on the contrary, many 
of those who formerly resided within the limits of the parish 
have moved to the suburbs of the city. The congregation 
must for the same reason continue to decrease slowly in the 
future ; but this diminution will be almost imperceptible. 

ST. MICHAEL'S GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

The nucleus of the present immense congregation was 
formed in a small frame building, consisting of a single room, 
which stood near the site of the present church, most proba- 
bly in the year 1846. At that time the number of Catholics 
was not sufficient to fill this single room. No regular pastor 
was yet appointed, and no one thought that a church would 
be needed for years to come. But the congregation immedi- 
ately increased with great rapidity ; and in the spring of 1847 
Rev. A. Schifferer was appointed pastor. Bishop O'Connor 
donated the ground for a church from the farm which he had 
lately purchased there, and of which mention will be made 
hereafter ; and a church was undertaken. The corner-stone 
was laid by the Bishop July i6th, 1848 ; and the church was 



156 



A NEW CHURCH UNDERTAKEN. 



dedicated by the same prelate November 24th, under the in- 
vocation of the Archangel St. Michael. The original chapel 
is yet standing, but this church was torn down to give place 
to the present edifice. Suffice it then to say, by way of de- 
scription, that the church was frame, was 90 feet in length by 
50 in width, and chaste and simple in style and finish. Fr. 
Schifferer withdrew in 185 1, and the congregation was minis- 
tered to at intervals by Rev. N. Hoeres, of M'Keesport, till, 
after a few months. Rev. J. Hartman was appointed pastor. 
During his pastorate he built a brick residence, which having 
since been enlarged is still occupied. He remained until the 
arrival of the Passionist fathers at the close of the year 1853. 
Fr. Stanislaus, one of their number, was then appointed- pas- 
tor, and remained for five years ; and since that time the 
congregation has always been under the care of a member of 
that order. The rapid increase of the congregation soon 
necessitated the appointment of an assistant. But it was to 
little purpose. The increasing stream of emigrants from 
Fatherland was such as to demand more ample accommoda- 
tions than such a church could afford. A larger one must be 
built. But the people, coming so lately into the country, 
were destitute of the means, notwithstanding their proverbial 
economy and frugality. In order to lessen the burden, Fr. 
Stanislaus divided the work; and having had plans of the 
whole prepared, erected that part of the church comprising 
the sanctuaries and sacristies against the rear of the existing 
building, about the year 1857. But the circumstances of the 
congregation improved so rapidly that no further delay was 
required, and the erection of the entire church was com- 
menced in the following spring. The corner-stone — the first 
for a Passionist church in the United States — was laid with 
imposing ceremony by Fr. M'Mahon, V.G., and Adminis- 
trator in the absence of the Bishop, July 18th, 1858. The 
new church was built around the old until it became necessary 
to tear down the latter, after which the congregation accom.- 
modated themselves as best they could. In the mean time Fr. 
Stanislaus was succeeded by Fr. Luke. The new church 
was finished in the fall of 1861, and preparations were made 
on the grandest scale for the dedication. The ceremony took 



\ 

DESCRIPTION OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH. 157 

place on September 29th, feast of St. Michael, patron of the 
church, and was the first dedication perforn^ed by Bishop 
Domenec. Rev. F. X. Weninger, S.J., preached on the 
occasion. 

St. Michael's Church stands on Pius Strer t, at the head of 
Twelfth, and is about one and one half miles south-east of the 
Point. The location is commanding, and exhibits the church 
to great advantage. Standing at the foot of the hill, but on 
a terrace nearly a hundred feet higher than the plane upon 
which the surrounding portion of the city is built, it com- 
mands an extensive view — when the smoke permits. The 
church is brick, and is 160 feet in length by 65 in width, hav- 
ing a tower in the centre in front about 175 feet high. It is 
a good specimen of the Romanesque style of architecture. 
There is a basement under the whole building, although at 
the front and upper side it is wholly beneath the level of the 
street. The nave is 60 feet to the ceiling and the aisles 40 ; 
the former is separated from the latter by two piers and three 
columns on each side besides the pilasters at the front and 
rear. The piers and columns are placed alternately, as this 
style of architecture requires, and are furnished with cush- 
ioned capitals. The windows, of the clerestory are arranged 
in pairs. The ceiling of the nave is groined from the piers, 
and that of the aisles from these and the columns, making the 
nave double the width of the aisles. There are three altars, 
those on the right and left being dedicated respectively to the 
Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph. The sanctuary of the high 
altar is the half of an octagon, an arrangement which re- 
quires less to be taken from the body of the church. The 
altar is surmounted by a well-executed statue of St. Michael. 
The baptismal-font occupies a recess in the wall on the left 
near the entrance. The tower contains a clock and a chime 
of bells. Since the frescoing of the church by the present 
pastor, Fr. Sebastian, in the summer of 1876, it is one of the 
most beautiful in the diocese. 

From the date of its organization St. Michael's was blessed 
with a good Catholic school. At first it was taught in the 
little chapel, then in the frame church, both of which became 
school-houses during the week ; and with the completion of 



15 S ST. JOSEPH'S CHUPXH. 

the present edifice it was transferred to the basement. Here 
it remained until 1872, when Fr. Frederick, then pastor, 
erected a large brick school-house to the rear of the church, 
on the opposite side of Pius Street. This building contains 
ten large rooms, besides a spacious hall fitted with a stage, 
etc., and is without exception the largest and best Catholic 
school building in the two dioceses. The schools were under 
the control of lav teachers until the fall of 1867, when the 
Sisters of St. Francis, from Buffalo, estabhshed their mother- 
house in the parish and took charge of them. 

An interesting feature of St. Michael's is the number of 
sodalities and Catholic societies, nearly a dozen in all. con- 
nected with the church : and almost every man. woman, and 
child in the parish is a member of one or more of them. 

Since the organization of St. Michael's congregation four 
others have been formed from it, yet the parent church is 
crowded at several Masses on Sundays. Unlike some other 
citv parishes, there is no fear of a diminution of its numbers ; 
and should half of them leave, it would still be large enough 
for the church. Three priests are required to minister to it, 
and thev are bareJv sufficient ; and assistance has frequently 
to be asked from the m.onastery. It is without exception the 
largest German Catholic congregation in Western Pennsyl- 
vania, and will number nearly, if not quite. 7000 ; while in 
point of provision for Christian training, care of the desti- 
tute, and the general spiritual welfare of its members, it is 
not equalled, much less surpassed, by any other. 

ST. JOSEPH'S GERALIX CHURCH, MOUNT OLIVER, ALLEGHEXl' 

COUXTY. 

St. Joseph's Church is not within the city limits. — although 
a large portion of the congregation is. — but stands like a 
sentinel on Mount Oliver, about one and a half miles south 
of St. Michael's, from which it was originally taken. The 
idea of erecting a church on this spot had long been enter- 
tained bv the CathoHcs residing in the vicinity ; and a com- 
mittee of them purchased three fourths of an acre of ground 
as a site, before the breakins: out of the civil war. Xo selec- 



DESCRIPTION OF ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH. 159 

tion could have been better. It is a round knoll large enough 
for a church and the other necessary buildings, and is the 
highest spot of ground in the vicinity of Pittsburg. Lying to 
the south, it is free from the perennial cloud of smoke that 
hangs like a pall over the city. 

But the civil war broke out before it was thought neces- 
sary to undertake the erection of a church ; and Pittsburg 
was for a time thought to be in danger. The little church 
property was too commanding a spot to escape the attention 
of those who planned the earthworks that were thrown up 
at different points around the city, and a fortification known 
as Fort Jones was constructed upon it. The danger passed, 
the fort mouldered away, the temporal gave place to the 
spiritual, and instead of the booming of cannon, the clatter of 
musketry, and the glitter of pohshed swords are the peal of 
bells, the tones of the organ, and the bloodless thrusts of the 
sword of the spirit. It is now a citadel for the soldiers of 
Christ. 

The time at length arrived for the division of St. 
Michael's congregation and the organization of a new parish. 
Father Luke, then assistant at St. Michael's, assembled the 
people on Sunday, July 12th, 1868, and discoursed to them on 
the necessity of erecting a church on the Mount, on which a 
large number of Catholic families then resided. This done, 
he set out at the head of a procession which advanced to the 
spot, that appears to have been lost sight of by its purchasers. 
All were pleased with the site. Work was commenced, and 
the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop October 4th of the 
same year. Father Luke, to whom the organization of the 
congregation was confided, and who is still its pastor, pur- 
chased additional lots adjoining those already held. The 
church was finished at the end of two years, and dedicated by 
the Bishop, under the patronage of the chaste spouse of the 
Blessed Virgin, November 20th, 1870. It is of brick, fronts 
to the north, and is 155 feet in length by 80 in width in the 
transept and 55 in the nave ; and is built in the Roman style 
of architecture. It is very beautiful in the interior. The 
ceiling is 55 feet high, and rises somewhat higher at the 
point where the nave and transept intersect. No pillars rise 



l6o ST. MARTINS CHURCH. 

to intercept the view ; but a beautiful cornice supported by 
pilasters extends around the whole of the interior walls at 
the spring of the roof, adding greatly to the appearance. 
The head of the nave ends in a semicircular apse forming a 
sanctuary for the high altar. There are three altars, all of 
which are as yet temporary. The style of the pulpit, pews, 
confessionals, and organ is in harmony with that of the 
church. Contrary to the style of the present day, the win- 
dows are not filled with stained but frosted glass, which af- 
fords better light and presents the interior of the church to 
better advantage. The building is without a steeple, but has 
in its stead a simple belfry in which is a chime of bells. It 
would be difficult to find a church better calculated by its 
style and finish to please than St. Joseph's. No pastoral 
residence has yet been built ; but the rooms over one of the 
sacristies ser^^e as a lodging for the pastor, who takes his 
meals elsewhere. 

A school was opened perhaps twenty years ago near the 
spot where the church now stands, and was conducted by lay 
teachers under the superintendence of the pastor of St. 
Michael's. Father Luke placed it under the care of the 
Sisters of St. Francis, who have a convent there. A small 
school was also opened by a lay teacher at Spiketown, about 
a mile south-west of the church. The congregation is com- 
posed principally of miners, many of whom own their hum- 
ble homes, and a few farmers ; but the number of persons in 
independent circumstances is small. It is gradually but 
slowly increasing and must continue to increase. A con- 
siderable part of it was taken off to form St. Wendehne's 
congregation in 1875 ; but it will still number perhaps two 
hundred and fifty families. 

ST. martin's GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

This church is situated in the extreme south-west of Pitts- 
burg, in what was known as Temperanceville before its con- 
solidation with the city ; and is located about half a mile 
south of the Ohio River. The congregation cannot Avith 
strict propriety be said to have been formed from any other. 



CHANGES OF PASTORS. l6i 

Part formerly attended St. Michael's Church, part St. 
Philomena's, part St. Mary's, Chartier's Creek, and the re- 
mainder heard Mass in St. James' English Church near by. 
When the number of families had sufficiently increased to 
form a congregation, the church was undertaken by the inde- 
pendent movement of a self-constituted committee in the 
summer of 1869. As the most influential of these lived on 
the side of the hill, they determined to consult their own 
convenience and build the church there. This is much to be 
regretted, for the hill is steep and there is neither street nor 
thoroughfare passing near the church. The corner-stone 
was, however, laid by the Bishop August 15th of that year; 
and the church was dedicated in his absence by Father 
Hickey, V.G., May ist, 1870. It is a frame building 85 feet 
in length by 40 in width, and is furnished with a neat little 
spire over the entrance. It cannot be said to be of any par- 
ticular style of architecture, but like the greater number of 
our smaller churches is constructed after the independent 
style, which leaves greater scope than any other for the dis- 
play of native genius. The interior is neatly finished and 
frescoed. The inclination of the ground upon which the 
building stands secured a basement-room about half the 
length of the church, and here a school was immediately 
opened. 

Rev. F. X. Paulitigi was appointed first pastor. After re- 
maining about two years he was succeeded by Rev. Joseph 
Boehm, who at the end of a year gave place to Rev. Edward 
Hanses. The latter built a brick pastoral residence in the 
summer of 1874. Father Hanses withdrew from the congre- 
gation and was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. H. 
Gcebel, September, 1877. The Sisters of Divine Providence, 
a branch of the house at Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, Pitts- 
burg, came to take charge of the schools at the appointment 
of Father Goebel. 

The congregation is composed of a variety of elements — 
rolling-mill hands, miners, farmers, and gardeners — and will 
number about one hundred and fifty families, with fair pros- 
pects for a future increase. 



l62 ST. PETER'S CHURCH. 



ST. PETER'S GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG, SOUTH SIDE. 

The growth of the German Catholic population of the 
South Side was very rapid during and after the war, and was 
confined principally to Brownstown, as the eastern portion of 
that part of the city was then called, because here the land 
was level and well suited for building. St. Michael's Church 
began, as has been said, to be crowded to excess ; and although 
the erection of St. Joseph's afforded a relief, it was only tem- 
porary. Seconded by the pastor of the parent church, the 
Cathohcs of Brownstown purchased lots at the corner of 
Twenty -eighth and Sara streets, February 21st, 1871. True 
to the cause of Catholic education, they planned a building 
the first story of which should furnish school-rooms, and the 
second a temporary church ; and when the congregation 
should increase so as to require a larger church, the tempo- 
rary one could be converted into additional school-rooms. 
The building was undertaken in the latter part of 1871, and 
the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 8th of October. 
The congregation was not as yet an independent organization, 
but was under the care of the pastor of St. Michael's. But 
Rev. J. B. Doffner was appointed pastor November 7th of 
the same year, and he still continues to preside over the con- 
gregation. Upon his arrival he found only the rising walls of 
a building upon which little could be done before the opening 
of spring. To supply a temporary place of worship he rented 
a hall. The new building was completed early in the spring 
of 1872, and was dedicated by the Bishop March 17th. It 
is a substantial brick structure, 55 feet in length by 27 in 
width. 

The congregation, which daily increased in numbers and 
ability, soon required more ample accommodations ; and in 
the summer of 1873 the pastor commenced the erection of 
what was to be their parish church. The Bishop laid the 
corner-stone July 13th. The church was finished in the 
autumn of the following year, and dedicated by the same pre- 
late with unusual pomp November 24th. Fr. Doffner could 
now contemplate a finished work upon which indeed he had 



DESCRIPTION OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH. 163 

expended much time and toil, but in which he had been ably 
seconded by a generous people ; and although a heavy debt 
w^s necessarily contracted, it is gradually melting away, 
and must after a few years entirely disappear. The church is 
brick, and approaches more nearly to the Gothic than to any 
other style of architecture. It is 170 feet in length by 70 in 
width, and has a steeple in the centre in front 180 feet high. 
There are no columns, but the ceiling is ribbed with stucco- 
work, and rises from the sides to the centre, which latter is 59 
feet from the floor. The high altar as well as those of the 
Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, to the sides of it, are wood, 
but of superior workmanship. The organ, which cost $4700, 
is an instrument of unusual power and sweetness of tone. 
But the frescoing of the church has not been executed in 
good style : it is crowded, and, the darker shades predominat- 
ing, has a tendency rather to lower and contract than to ex- 
pand the prospect, which latter painting should be made to 
do. 

The school, as has just been said, was opened simultane- 
ously with the organization of the congregation, and was 
under the direction of lay teachers. But in the autumn of 
1876 an arrangement was made by which the girls and smaller 
boys are taught by the Sisters of St. Francis, who come daily 
from St. Joseph's Convent. A large brick pastoral residence 
was built to the rear of the church in the summer and fall of 
1877. During the time that St. Wendeline's Church was 
attended from St. Peter's the pastor had an assistant, but at 
present he performs the onerous work of his congregation 
unaided. 

When it is remembered that in less than four years from 
the organization of St. Peter's it was one of the leading Ger- 
man congregations of the city both in numerical strength and 
in the style and finish of its buildings, an idea can be formd 
of the rapid growth of the Catholic population. Being in the 
outskirts of the city, the congregation must continue to increase 
until such time as it becomes necessary to form others from 
it. It is composed principally of persons employed in the 
rolling-mills, glass-houses, and mines. The American Iron 
Works, which employs about twenty-five hundred men, and 



l64 THE AMERICAN IRON WORKS. 

is said to be, with one exception, the largest rolling-mill in the 
world, is situated within the limits of this congregation. Its 
condition is a fair criterion by which to judge that of the con- 
gregation. If the mill is in active operation, the congregation 
is flourishing; if not, it is seen in the reduced circumstances of 
many in the parish. Fr. Doffner still presides over the parish, 
which will now number perhaps four hundred families. 



CHAPTER XL. 

german churches of pittsburg and allegheny city 
(concluded). 

St. Mary's Church, Allegheny — Death and sketch of Rev. John Stiebel — St. 
Joseph's Church — --Church of the Holy Name of Jesus — St. Winceslaus' 
Bohemian Church — Holy Trinity Church, Pittsburg — Death and sketch of 
Rev. Francis Grimmer — and of Rev. Charles Schuler — The Carmelite Fathers 
— Sts. Peter and Paul's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. Aloysius Hune, 
D.D. — St. Augustine's Church — Death and sketch of Rev. Philip Schmidt — 
The Capuchin Friars — St. Joseph's Church — St. Stanislaus' Polish Church — 
Recapitulation. 

ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY, 

St. Mary's congregation was the third in point of time to 
be cut off from St. Philomena's. The first steps toward the 
organization of the parish were taken by the Redemptorist 
fathers from the mother-church. They selected the site upon 
which the church now stands ; but a number of members in- 
sisted strongly upon having it built a few squares further back 
from the river. The Bishop, however, decided in favor of 
the present location — between Washington and Liberty 
streets, to the south of North Street. Very Rev. John E. 
Mosetizh, V.G., was appointed pastor, and immediately com- 
menced to build the church. The building, which has since 
been torn down, was frame, 90 feet in length by 40 in width, 
but without attempt at architectural display, and was dedi- 
cated by the Bishop December 17th, 1848. The school-house 
and pastoral residence were next to engage the attention of 
pastor and people, and a plan was formed that should embrace 
both in the same building. A brick house, two stories high, 
was commenced in March, 185 1, the first floor of which should 
be divided into two small school-rooms, while the second 
should be the pastoral residence. It was finished and occupied 



l66 ST. MARTS CHURCH, ALLEGHENY. 

in July. Fr. Mosetizh was succeeded early in October by 
Rev. John Stiebel, in whom were united in a remarkable 
degree the learning, prudence, and virtue which constitute 
the saintly priest. Though young, he soon gave evidence of 
unusual energy and administrative ability, which won for him 
a high place in the esteem and affection of the Bishop and his 
brethren in the sacred ministry. 

The congregation increased and a larger church was ere 
long demanded. Work was commenced upon it, and the 
corner-stone was laid by the Bishop April 17th, 1853. It was 
finished in the autumn of the following year, and dedicated in 
the absence of the Bishop by Fr. M'Mahon, V.G., December 
loth. The church, which is of brick, cannot be said to be of 
any particular style of architecture. It is 150 feet in length 
by 65 in width, and has a small Byzantine dome on each corner 
in front ; and between these is a porch supported by columns. 
The nave and aisles are arched with the tunnel or barrel 
vault, and supported by two rows of columns with cushioned 
capitals. A transverse arch crosses the ceiling in the middle, 
and at the point of intersection with the nave a small dome 
is erected. This dome, added to the peculiar construction of 
the interior, so affected the acoustic properties of the church 
that it was with difficulty a speaker could be heard. To ob- 
viate this difficulty the pulpit was afterwards moved to a spot 
near the middle of the church. There are three altars, all of 
which are wood. That in the centre occupies an apse at the 
head of the nave, and is one of the most artistically finished in 
the diocese. It was erected by Fr. Celestine, O.S.B., and dedi- 
cated by the Bishop April 7th, 1 872. The interior of the church 
is finished in chaste and simple style, the object having been to 
erect a spacious and substantial rather than an elegant structure. 

The completion of the church afforded no respite to the 
indefatigable pastor. Additional school accommodations were 
demanded; and in 1856 he erected a building with four rooms. 
As yet the children were under the care of lay teachers ; but 
in 1 86 1 he secured the services of the Sisters of Mercy from 
the House of Industry, near by, who taught the whole school 
for a number of years, and the girls for some time after giving 
up the boys. 



DEATH OF REV. JOHN ST IE BEL. 167 

The German Catholic population continued to increase, 
and members of the congregation were found at so great a 
distance and in such numbers that a new church was required 
on Troy Hill, to the north ; at Manchester, to the south ; and 
at Perrysville, to the west. All were begun about the year 
1866. But no fears were entertained of the parent congrega- 
tion ever becoming too small. On the contrary, the church 
is filled at three Masses, besides that for the children. 

In the course of a few years the school accommodations 
again became too limited. To remedy the deficiency for all 
future time, Fr. Stiebel determined to erect a large building 
that should supply this and several other pressing wants. 
With this object in view he purchased lots on the side of 
North Street opposite the church, upon which he erected a 
large brick block about the year 1868, 135 feet in length by 60 
in width. Exteriorly the building is one, but the interior is 
not. About thirty feet of the end fronting on Washington 
Street is arranged for a pastoral residence, and is four stories 
high. In this the priests, now five in number, reside. The 
lower story of the rest of the building is divided into four 
school-rooms, for the girls of the parish. The next story is a 
chapel, capable of seating nine hundred persons, and is for the 
use of the children. Over this is a hall for fairs, meetings, 
etc. Soon after the completion of this building the congrega- 
tion and the diocese were destined to sustain an irreparable 
loss in the death of Fr. Stiebel. The zealous and saintly pas- 
tor, worn out by incessant toil and the voluntary mortifications 
which he inflicted on himself in no stinted measure, calmly 
yielded up his pure soul to God, after a lingering illness, early 
in the afternoon of January 13th, 1869, being in the 49th year 
of his age. 

Rev. John Stiebel was born of poor but pious parents, 
at the village of Cry on, near Trieste, at the head of the Adri- 
atic Sea, in the Austrian Empire. Little could be learned of 
his parentage or his early life even by his most intimate 
friends, and it was only from incidental remarks, as I have 
been informed by a priest who was for years his assistant, 
that the little information we possess has been obtained. 
Absolutely nothing is known except that he studied in his 



l68 ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, ALLEGHENY. • 

native land, was ordained, and a year afterwards came to this 
country and to St. Mary's Church at the solicitation of Fr. 
Mosetizh, arriving, as has been said, in the autumn of 185 1. 
From that time he is best known in his works. But his inner 
life, which would afford edifying details, was wholly '' hidden 
with Christ m God." Besides his labors in St. Mary's and 
the congregations formed from it, he visited the German 
Catholics to the west as far as Beaver, and took an active 
interest in all that pertained to their spiritual welfare. He 
was also for many years diocesan secretary for the Germans. 
He leaves a name that will never be forgotten in the places 
which he illustrated by his learning and piety. His remains 
repose in the cemetery belonging to the church. 

Fr. Stiebel was succeeded by Rev. Ignatius Reiser ; and 
he, in April of the same year, by Rev. John A. Shell. The 
latter built a mortuary chapel in the cemetery on the hill to 
the west of the city, the corner-stone of which was laid April 
24th, 1870. The dedication was performed by the Bishop 
November 6th of the same year. Fr. Shell was succeeded by 
the Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's Abbey, who es- 
tablished a priory at St. Mary's in October, 1872. The 
church is still under the care of the fathers of that order. 
But before leaving, Fr. Shell secured the services of the 
Brothers of Mary Immaculate as teachers for the boys. 
They occupy the old pastoral residence as a monastery. In 
September, 1879, ^^^ Benedictine nuns succeeded the Sisters 
of Mercy as teachers of the girls' school. The priests of St. 
Mary's minister to the spiritual necessities of the Little 
Sisters of the Poor and the inmates of their Home. 

St. Marj^'s is the second German congregation in size in 
the tw^o dioceses, and will probably number about 6000 souls. 
It will undergo little change in the Avay of increase for many 
years to come. 

ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

The rapidity with which the southern part of Allegheny 
was built up added many souls to St. Mary's Church and 
rendered the foundation of a separate parish necessary. Fr. 



DESCRIPTION OF ST. JOSEPH'S. 169 

Stiebel took the matter in hand and purchased very eligible 
lots on Fulton Street, extending from Franklin to Decatur 
streets. Work was commenced on the church in the spring 
of 1866, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 
24th of June. The dedication took place about a year later, 
but the precise date has not been ascertained. The building, 
which is brick, differs in plan from all the other churches of 
the diocese with the exception of that on Troy Hill. It is 
120 feet in length by 50 in width ; but 90 feet only of the 
front is used as a church. The remaining 30 feet, though 
similar to the rest exteriorly, is two stories high, the upper 
being meant for a pastoral residence and the lower for a 
school. The object had in view was to have an opportunity 
of accommodating a larger congregation in after-times by 
removing the partitions and converting the whole into a 
church when it should become necessary. The front of the 
church is surmounted by a small spire. The interior is 
neatly though not expensively furnished, and contains three 
altars. 

After its completion the church was visited every Sunday 
for about a year from St. Mary's ; but at the end of that time 
Rev. Ignatius Reiser was appointed resident pastor. On the 
death of Fr. Stiebel he was transferred to St. Mary's, but at 
the end of three months returned and remained until January 
15th, 1873. He was then succeeded by Rev. Peter Kaufman, 
the present pastor. Little change beyond a gradual increase 
had marked the passage of these years in the congregation. 
One of the first acts of Fr. Kaufman was the erection of a 
brick pastoral residence on Franklin Street, opposite the rear- 
of the church. This enabled him to effect another necessary 
reform — that of placing the schools under the care of a re- 
ligious community. He procured a sufficient number of 
Sisters of St. Francis from the mother-house on the South 
Side in September, 1873, who used as a convent the rooms 
formed}^ occupied by the pastor. But soon after the division 
of the diocese the Sisters returned to the mother-house, and 
were succeeded, in September, 1876, by Benedictine nuns, 
who have still charge of the schools. For the better accom- 
modation of the children a new school-house was built about 



170 TROY HILL. 

a year later, and the rooms formerly occupied by the children 
were given to the nuns. 

St. Joseph's congregation is slowly increasing and must 
continue to augment, and will number at present perhaps two 
hundred and fifty families. 



GERMAN CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS, TROY HILL, 
ALLEGHENY CITY. 

Troy Hill is a narrow strip of elevated ground extending 
into the northern end of Allegheny City, and lying between 
the Alleghen}^ River and Spring Garden Run. On the top is 
a plateau which is closely built for half a mile north from the 
point of the hill, and forms a part of the city. As one leaves 
the upper part of the city he begins to ascend the hill on the 
eastern side, and having gone half a mile reaches the summit. 
Here the German Orphan Asylum, with its extensive grounds, 
appears close on the left, and beside it the German cemetery 
with its countless crosses and its neat little mortuary chapel. 
A square further he has the House of the Good Shepherd 
before him, while the church now engaging our attention lies 
two squares to the left of it, on the western brow of the hill. 
If he wishes to pass further to the north and west beyond the 
limits of the city, a most pleasing prospect greets his eyes. 
It is not the superb mansions of the wealth}^, but the smiling 
gardens and vineyards of the laborious and frugal Germans, 
which speak of the contentment and independence that ever 
reward industry and economy. It is the paradise of the 
poor. To the west of Spring Garden Run green fields and 
extensive vineyards please the eye and enkindle the imagina- 
tion. The population of Troy Hill is German, and Catholic 
for the most part. 

As the population increased Father Stiebel took measures 
toward the erection of a church in the northern part of St. 
Mary's congregation, at the same time that he commenced 
St. Joseph's Church in the south of it ; and having named 
one church in honor of the august Mother of God and 
another in honor of her chaste spouse, he would satisfy his 
devotion by completing the earthly trinity, and gave this 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME. 171 

church the holy name of Jesus. To this end he purchased 
lots fronting to the south on Clarke Street and extending- 
back on Hazel to Diensberry Street. Work was begun, and 
the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop August 26th, 1866; 
but the church was not dedicated jintil June 7th, 1868, and as 
yet the interior was not completed. At the same time Rev. 
S. T. Mollinger, then pastor of St. Teresa's Church, Perrys- 
ville, was appointed pastor. The church is of the same 
dimensions and after the same plan as St. Joseph's, last 
noticed, but is somewhat more artistic in its interior finish. 
At the time the church was dedicated there were about fifty 
families in the congregation. A school was at once opened 
by a lay teacher in the lower rooms in the rear of the build- 
ing, while the pastor occupied the second floor. The finish- 
ing and decorating of the interior early engaged the pastor's 
attention. Two superb wooden side-altars were erected in 
the early part of 1869, and a magnificent marble high altar 
after the Byzantine style was completed in August, and con- 
secrated by the Bishop on the 15th. A statue of St. Boniface 
and one of St. Teresa have since been placed on brackets on 
either side of the altar, and one of St. John the Baptist on 
the right, against the pilaster that supports the arch of 
triumph. Against the pilaster on the left is the pulpit. A 
painting of St. Teresa over the altar of St. Joseph is a work 
of merit ; but that of St. Antony of Padua over the altar of 
the Blessed Virgin is a work of the rarest excellence. All the 
altar vessels and furniture are unusually rich. 

A brick school-house, 68 feet in length by 48 in width, and 
two stories high, was built to the rear of the church in the 
summer of 1874 ; the lower story of which is divided into two 
rooms, the upper being a hall. Since the completion of this 
building the girls have been taught by the School Sisters of 
Notre Dame from the German Orphan Asylum, and the boys, 
as before, by a layman. In the year 1877 Father Mollinger 
built an elegant brick pastoral residence. 

The building up of this part of the city has increased the 
congregation to about two hundred and fifty families ; but 
unlike other congregations, it has suffered comparatively little 



172 ST WINCE SLA US' CHURCH. 

from the financial condition of the times, from the fact that 
few of its people are employed in public works. 

Father Mollinger had an assistant, sometimes two, for 
several years who said Mass and ministered to the spiritual 
necessities of the communities and inmates of the German 
Orphan Asylum and the House of the Good Shepherd. For 
a time he had also charge of St. Anne's Church, Millvale : but 
these are now attended from other places, and he is alone. 

But Father Mollinger is in possession of a treasure deserv- 
ing of special mention — the large number of sacred relics 
w^hich he has brought together. The collection amounts to 
perhaps four thousand, and is arranged in order in a room 
specially prepared for its reception. The greater part is 
placed in costly rehquaries. It would be difficult to enu- 
merate even those deserving of special mention ; but the col- 
lection may safely be said to be one of the largest and rarest 
in America, and few persons or institutions in the entire 
Christian world are permitted to congratulate themselves on 
the possession of such a treasure. 

' ST. WINCESLAUS' BOHEMIAN CHURCH, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

For many years a number of Bohemian Catholics existed 
in St. Mary's congregation ; but from the fact that Father 
Stiebel was familiar with their language they experienced no 
difficulty in complying with their religious duties, and con- 
sequently attracted no attention. At his death, however, 
they were in a measure deprived of the consolations of re- 
ligion, there being no priest in either city capable of hearing 
their confessions or preaching to them. Finding a priest at 
length, and being anxious to organize them into a separate 
congregation, the Bishop encouraged them to purchase a 
Methodist Episcopal Church on Main Street, near St. Mary's, 
which was then exposed for sale. It was bought in 1871, and 
after undergoing the necessary alterations was dedicated by 
the Bishop under the invocation of St. Winceslaus. It is a 
brick building, perhaps 65 feet in length by 40 in width, and 
has been built for fifteen or twenty years. The front is sur- 
mounted by a short tower, and the interior has a front and 



HOLY TRINITY CHURCH. 1 73 

side galleries. Rev. John Videnka, lately arrived in the dio- 
cese, was appointed pastor. A frame house on the church lot 
was used as a pastoral residence, and another for a time as a 
school-house. After remaining with the congregation for 
about four years. Father Videnka was succeeded by the pres- 
ent pastor, Rev. Siegfried Khma, O.S.B., who resides at St. 
Mary's. 

Soon after that date the school was reopened, but this 
time in the basement of the church. Here the Bohemian, 
German, and English languages are taught the children. 

The congregation should number about two hundred 
families, but the inroads made by secret societies, and the 
want of attachment to the faith in other respects, has reduced 
it at least one half. So unpromising was it that about the 
year 1873 the late Bishop seriously entertained the thought 
of attaching the members of the congregation to St. Mary's, 
and of organizing an English congregation in the upper part 
of the city with St. Winceslaus' as their parish church. The 
same thought is entertained at present, and will doubtless soon 
be carried into execution. There can be but little doubt that 
the people will eventually lose their native language and 
cease to exist as a Bohemian congregation ; and from the fact 
that no increase is received by immigration, this will be the 
work of comparatively few years. 

HOLY TRINITY GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

A large proportion of those who first settled on the hill, 
then known as Reisville, were German Catholics. To accom- 
modate them, as well as to relieve St. Philomena's, the Re- 
demptorist fathers determined to build a church in that part 
of the city ; and for this purpose purchased lots on Centre 
Avenue, extending from Fulton to Crawford streets. The 
site is about a mile from the Point and equidistant from the 
two rivers. A temporary chapel was opened in the spring of 
1857, ^i^d at the same time work was commenced on the foun- 
dation of the church. The corner-stone was laid by Fr. 
M'Mahon, V.G., on the 7th of June; and the church was dedi- 
cated by the Bishop November 22d. The church was then 



174 



DEATH AND CHANGES OF PASTORS. 



88 feet in length by 44 in width, and 26 feet to the ceiling, 
which is flat. It is furnished with three altars, and has a 
small wooden spire. 

The church was attended by the Redemptorist fathers 
from St. Philomena's for some time, until at length Rev. Jos. 
Kauffman, a secular priest, was appointed resident pastor. 
About this time a brick pastoral residence was built. The 
church was under the care of secular priests until 1867, when 
it passed into the hands of the Benedictine fathers from St. 
Vincent's Abbey, who established a priory there. In the 
mean time two of the secular pastors had died. The first was 
Rev. Francis Grimmer, who died of apoplexy July 9th, 1859, 
and was buried in the cemetery at the east of the city belong- 
ing to the congregation. He was born at Taubenbischofsheim, 
Baden, May 12th, 1794; came to this country at the age of 
fourteen years, and w^as ordained in 1827. Little more is 
stated in the biographical notices of him than that he served 
on the mission in different parts of the country and of this 
diocese. The second was Rev. Charles Schuler, who died of 
consumption at the Mercy Hospital September i8th, 1863. 
He was born at Schwytz, in the canton of the same name, 
Switzerland, about the year 1832 ; came to this country and 
completed his studies at St. Vmcent's College, where he was 
ordained by Bishop Domenec February 8th, 1861, being one 
of the first if not the first priest ordained by that prelate. 
His remains repose by the side of those of Fr. Grimmer. 

The Benedictines withdrew from Holy Trinity at the 
close of 1870, and were succeeded by Rev. A. Rosswogg. 
From this date the pastor has always had an assistant. In 
the summer of 1872 the church was enlarged by the addition 
of twenty-four feet to its length in front— the length of the lot 
permitted no more ; and such a steeple was erected over the 
entrance as had been over it before. During the following 
summer new and very neat wooden altars replaced the old 
ones ; and two paintings of considerable merit, an Ivwiacidate 
Conception and a Crucifixion, were placed over the side-altars. 
The church was also handsomely frescoed and painted, making 
it one of the most attractive in the city. It may be remarked, 
in passing, that our German friends are far in advance of the 



STS. PETER AND PAUL'S CHURCH. 175 

English in the manner in which they finish and decorate the 
interior of their churches and brush off the dust of the city. 

Fr. Rosswogg was succeeded in the autumn of 1874 by 
Rev. J. Tamchina, who m turn gave place to a colony of 
priests of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who, 
banished from Prussia by the tyranny of Bismarck, found a 
home among us and took charge of Holy Trinity July 23d, 
1875. During the summer of the following year they built a 
brick monastery fronting on Centre Avenue and extending 86 
feet in length from Fulton Street to the church. It is 30 feet 
in width and three stories high, besides the basement. The 
chapel, rooms, and cells, though breathing the true spirit of 
poverty, are spacious, well ventilated, and form in all a com- 
fortable home for the good religious. The pastor of this 
church had charge of the inmates of St. Paul's Orphan Asy- 
lum from 1874 until recently, when a resident chaplain was 
appomted. 

A school was opened simultaneously with the erection of 
the church, and was conducted by lay teachers until the year 
S78, when they were succeeded by a number of the Sisters 
^f Divine Providence, from Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, 
Pittsburg, who occupy the old pastoral residence as a con- 
vent. An addition was built to the school-house about the 
same time that the church was enlarged. But additional 
accommodations are still required, and it is probable that a 
new school-house will soon be built. 

The congregation has increased gradually since its organ- 
ization, and it must continue, as it is not probable that a new 
one will be formed from the outskirts of it for many years. 



STS. PETER AND PAUL'S GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG, 
EAST END. 

Soon after the completion of Holy Trinity Church, which 
accommodated part of the Catholics living in the out- 
skirts of St. Philomena's congregation, the Redemptorist 
fathers turned their attention to a portion of their charge 
still more distant, and undertook the erection of a church 
for the Germans residing in East Liberty. But the 



176 THJE EAST END. 

East Liberty of that day would compare very indiffer- 
ently with that of the present. At that time it was a 
village about four miles from the city, on the line of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad ; now it is a part of the city, an active 
business place and the home of many of our wealthiest and 
most influential citizens. Since the annexation, which took 
place in 1867, it is called the East End, or East Pittsburg, al- 
though its former name is frequently applied to it. The peo- 
ple were ably assisted in the erection of the church by the 
generosity of Mr. Peter Hauch, who donated half an acre of 
ground as a site for it. The corner-stone was laid by the 
Bishop on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 1857; but not- 
withstanding that the building is small, it was not finished till 
the end of two j^ears, when it was dedicated by the same pre- 
late on the same national holiday, November 24th. The 
church is situated on Larimer Avenue, is of brick, about 75 
feet in length by 40 in width, and has a tower rising from the 
centre in front to the height of about 100 feet. There are 
three altars and a gallery which accommodates the choir and 
a part of the congregation. The church, though neatly fin- 
ished, lacks the leading characteristics of any particular style 
of architecture. 

The congregation was attended as a mission by the Re- 
demptorist fathers until May, i860, when Rev. C. Kloeker 
was appointed resident pastor. He purchased a lot adjoining 
the church with a small frame house upon it, which served 
for many years as a pastoral residence ; and he was suc- 
ceeded at the end of a year by Rev. Ignatius Reiser. After 
improving somewhat the interior of the church, he gave place 
to Rev. John M. Bierl, August 15th, 1865. By this time the 
congregation had increased from fifty to two hundred and 
fifty families. But a part was English and withdrew upon 
the organization of the congregation of the Sacred Heart, as 
we have seen. Father Bierl was succeeded b}^ Rev. F. X. 
Paulitigi in the summer of 1872. During his pastorate he 
frescoed and otherwise improved the interior of the church. 
But his most important work was the erection of a commo- 
dious brick pastoral residence. He gave place to Rev. Geo. 



DEATH OF REV. A. HUNE, D.D. 177 

Allman in August, 1874; and he in February, 1875, to Rev. 
Aloysius Hune, D.D. 

With the organization of the parish a school was opened 
by a lay teacher in a rude wooden building until such time 
as the congregation should be able to erect a better one. A 
colony of Ursuline Sisters came, most probably in the summer 
of 1869, who taught the school about five years. They then 
withdrew, and the school passed into the hands of the Sisters 
of St. Agnes from Fond du Lac, Wis. Their sojourn was 
brief, and they were succeeded by the Benedictine Nuns in 
the summer of 1875. A year later and they also withdrew 
to give place to the present teachers, a colony of Sisters of 
Divine Providence, expelled from Germany by the tyranny 
of Bismarck. Fr. Hune built a large brick school-house and 
convent combined, which was blessed by the Bishop Sep- 
tember 2d, 1877, and has since been occupied. But the 
congregation was called upon to sustain a great loss in the 
sudden demise of its learned and gentle pastor, who after 
retiring in his usual health on the evening of December 
31st, 1877, was found dead in his bed on the following morn- 
ing. 

Rev. Aloysius Hune was born of pious German CathoHc 
parents in Pittsburg, August nth, 1844. In his childhood 
they moved to Latrobe, Westmoreland County, and at a 
proper age sent him to St. Vincent's College to begin his 
studies. He was sent to Rome in the autumn of 1869, where 
he continued his course until the fall of the city, when he re- 
tired to Innsbruck. Returning to the Holy City, he took his 
degree of Doctor of Divinity, and was ordained by Cardinal 
Patrizi June 7th, 1873. On his return to the Diocese of 
Pittsburg he was appointed pastor of the church in Cambria 
City, and after six months was transferred to East Liberty. 
Though by no means robust in health he was not feeble, and 
was always able to discharge the duties of his mission. His 
life was a constant study to follow in the footsteps of his holy 
patron. His remains were taken to St. Vincent's Abbey, 
where they repose. 

After four months, during which the congregation was 
attended by one of the Capuchin fathers from St. Augustine's 



178 ST. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH. 

Church, Rev. Joseph Siihr was appointed pastor, an office 
which he continues to fill. 

Early in the year 1879 the Sisters purchased the school- 
house from the congregation in order to use the entire 
building as a convent for their increasing community. They 
also purchased from another source a large lot of ground 
adjoining it. To accommodate the schools Fr. Siihr bought 
the First U. P. Church, a brick building two stories high 
and about 75 feet in length by 40 in width, with the large lot 
upon which it stands, for $2000. The lower story is divided 
into rooms sufficient for the children, while the upper, which 
is fitted up with pews, will serve as a hall. 

The growth of the congregation, though fair some years 
ago, is now tardy ; which is in part due to the financial de- 
pression of the times, and in part to the recklessness with 
which the city has been plunged into debt in the course of a 
few years by the construction of suburban avenues. These 
needless improvements have so increased the taxes that people 
seem rather to be renting their homes from the tax-collector 
than owning them. But the congregation must continue to 
increase, notwithstanding the difficulties against which it has 
to contend. It numbers at present about two hundred 
families. 



ST. AUGUSTINE'S GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

St. Augustine's congregation is the last of those formed 
from St. Philomena's. So large a number of German Catho- 
lics were found in the rapidly increasing population of this 
part of the city that the formation of a parish and the erec- 
tion of a church were comparatively easy. The congregation 
was organized in the spring of i860, and in April lots were 
purchased on Butler Street, between Thirty-sixth and Thirty- 
seventh streets. Being Germans, the first care of the people 
was to open a school, which they did in a rented room. The 
foundation of the church Avas begun in the spring of 1862 ; 
and the corner-stone was laid by Fr. M'Mahon, V.G., June 
22d. Rev. Philip Schmidt, from St. Mary's Church, Alle- 
gheny, organized the congregation and built the church, 



DEATH OF REV. PHILIP SCHMIDT. 179 

which was finished in a year, and dedicated by the Bishop on 
Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 1863. Fr. Schmidt now 
withdrew, and returned, it would appear, to St. Mary's. 
From there he retired to the Mercy Hospital, and died after 
a short illness in the summer of 1866, in the 48th year of his 
age. He was interred in the German cemetery, Allegheny. 
He was a native of Freiburg, Germany ; and having studied 
and been ordained, he exercised the duties of the sacred min- 
istry for some years in his native land. Coming to this 
country, he entered the Diocese of Pittsburg a few years 
before his death. 

Rev. John N. Tamchina was now appointed resident 
pastor. The church, which, as will be seen, has since been 
enlarged, was a brick structure, and was then about 100 feet 
in length by 60 in width. It has a tower rising to the height 
of about 150 feet in the centre in front, and is approached by 
a flight of stone steps owing to the inclination of the ground 
upon which it is built. The ceiling is about 50 feet high, and 
approaches the tunnel vault in the manner in which it is 
arched. The elements of the Romanesque sjtyle of architec- 
ture predominate in the whole edifice, although it is not after 
that style in all its purity. 

The next care of the congregation was the erection of the 
pastoral residence, a brick house standing a little distance to 
the rear of the church. The increasing congregation soon 
filled the church at two Masses, which was formerly too 
spacious for them at one ; and in 1868 an assistant priest be- 
came necessary. In the same year the school-house, which 
had been built before the church, was enlarged. In October 
Fr. Tamchina withdrew, and was succeeded by Rev. Geo. 
Kircher ; but he returned in September, 1871. The Sisters 
of St. Francis then took charge of the schools, which had 
from the commencement been taught by laymen ; and came 
daily for that purpose, as they still do, from St. Francis' Hos- 
pital, not far distant from the church. St. Joseph's congre- 
gation, Bloomfield, had been cut off in 1870. 

The congregation continued to increase rapidly and to em- 
brace within its Hmits many of the leading German Catholics of 
the city, so that a second assistant priest became necessary in 



l8o " THE LAZY monks:' 

1872. In other respects it witnessed little change until April, 
1874, when Fr. Tamchina was succeeded by a colony of 
Capuchin friars, exiles from Prussia, under the leadership of 
Rev. Hyacinth Epp, the present pastor of the church and 
guardian of the community. The church became once more 
inadequate to the accommodation of the people, and plans 
were prepared in the fall of 1874 for its enlargement. This 
addition is in the form of a transept, with an extension of the 
nave, giving the ground-plan of the church the form of a 
cross. The new part is of the same style as the original 
building, but develops its leading characteristics to a greater 
extent. Although not yet finished in the interior, the church 
was dedicated by the Bishop July 4th, 1875. 

The church at present is about 175 feet in length by about 
1 10 feet in width in the transept and 60 in the nave, and is 
the same height to the ceiling as was the original building. 
The apse at the head of the nave forms the sanctuary of the 
high altar, and this one only is enclosed within the altar-rail- 
ing. To the left stand two altars side by side, and one at the 
end of the transept ; while on the right there is but one and 
the baptistery. All the altars are of wood, but are very artis- 
tically carved and finished. The high altar especially is a 
masterpiece of artistic skill, and contains three life-size statues. 
What is most remarkable, however, is that the altars and the 
pulpit were planned and built by the skill and labor of one of 
the lay brothers of the community. I had the pleasure on 
two occasions of entering the workshop of this humble son of 
St. Francis and witnessing the skill with which he executed 
his difficult work. And yet we never hear the last of " lazy 
monks," " drones," etc., while in our midst — did our Protes- 
tant friends but open their eyes — is presented a most ir- 
refragible refutation of these threadbare calumnies. The 
Redemptorists, the Benedictines, the Passionists, the Carmel- 
ites, the Capuchins, all have united in erecting monuments 
that give the lie to popular prejudice; yet men ^'have eyes, 
and see not ; have ears, and hear not." 

A brick monastery was about the same time built against 
the rear of the church and connected with the existing pas- 
toral residence which forms a part of it. This new building 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, PITTSBURG. i8i 

fronts on Thirty-seventh Street, and is spacious, comfortable, 
and well ventilated — the home of the community, the silent 
witness of their toil, their studies, their devotion, their auster- 
ities and repose. 

A more spacious school building is necessary, and will 
soon be undertaken. 

Besides ministering to the congregation, one of the fathers 
has charge of the community and patients of St. Francis' Hos- 
pital. They had charge of St. Joseph's Church also until the 
beginning of 1877, ^t which time a resident pastor was ap- 
pointed. 

The congregation will continue to increase both in num- 
bers and wealth, although it is at present the third in popu- 
lation of the German congregations, and by far the wealthiest 
for its size. It bids fair to be ere long the leading German 
congregation in this part of the State. 

ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

The suburb of Bloomfield, which forms a part of the north- 
east of the city and has not changed its name since its 
annexation, is about a mile distant from the Allegheny River 
and three miles from the Point. The first Catholics who settled 
here were Germans from the more central parts of the city, 
who in the days of our prosperity purchased lots and built 
humble residences, and they are principally those in moderate 
circumstances. In the beginning they heard Mass at St. 
Augustine's Church, but they were soon desirous of having a 
church of their own, and more especially a school. Admirable 
instinct of our German Catholic friends ! A Catholic school 
— who can tell the blessings it brings with it ! Fr. Tamchina, 
who was at that time pastor of St. Augustine's, seeing the 
flattering prospects of the growing suburb, favored the under- 
taking, and in 1867 lots were purchased by the united efforts 
of twenty of the heads of leading families, for school and 
church purposes, at a cost of $2200. A small frame building 
about 26 by 35 feet and two stories high was erected, and in 
the following year a school was opened in the lower story by 
a lay teacher. The pastor of St. Augustine's had now an 



1 82 THE POLES. 

assistant ; and as the number of Catholics had considerably 
increased, the second story was fitted up for a church in 1870, 
and Mass was celebrated every Sunday. But the church was 
soon unable to accommodate the increasing throng. To 
remedy the defect an addition was built across the end of the 
existing church in 1872, making it about 65 feet in length by 
40 in width in the transept and 26 in the nave. An humble 
belfry surmounts it, and the interior is neatly finished. The 
church was dedicated by the Bishop November 3d of the 
same year. 

Rev. Ed. Hanses was now appointed resident pastor, who 
continued to exercise the duties of his ministry until succeeded 
by Rev. Julius Kuenzer, in the fall of 1873. But in the follow, 
ing July he was transferred to another parish, and St. Joseph's 
was again attached to St. Augustine's. The church, however, 
regained its independence early in 1877, when the present in. 
cumbent. Rev. John Staub, was appointed pastor. A brick 
residence was built in the fall of 1877, before which time the 
pastor had occupied a rented house. 

After the school had been for some time in the hands of a 
lay teacher it was committed to the care of the Sisters of St. 
Agnes during the pastorate of Fr. Hanses. But after a short 
time they were succeeded by the Sisters of St. Francis, who 
continue to the present time, and who walk daily from St. 
Francis' Hospital, half a mile distant. 

The congregation will number at present perhaps two 
hundred families, and, being in the outskirts of the city, must 
continue to increase. It will be but a few years before a larger 
church will be demanded. 



ST. STANISLAUS POLISH CHURCH, PITTSBURG. 

When the good people of Pittsburg were informed, in the 
fall of 1875, that the Fourth Presbyterian Church, on Penn 
Avenue, between Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets, with the 
large lot upon which it stands, had been purchased for $10,000 
and was converted into a Polish church, they first began to 
realize that there were Catholics of this nationality among us. 
The}^ reside principally in the eastern section of the South 



ST. STANISLAUS' CHURCH. 183 

Side, and near their present church ; but it would be difficult 
to determine the time at which they came to this city. The 
manner in which they were formerly ministered to is almost 
equally mysterious. During- the lifetime of Fr. Stiebel, who 
died in January, 1869, they could have found a confessor in 
him. Soon after his death the Bohemian church was opened, 
the pastor of which, Fr. Videnka, was also master of the 
Polish language. A priest capable of conversing with them 
may also have sometimes been found among the Redemptorist 
fathers at St. Philomena's, or at the Passionist Monastery. 
But they felt the inconvenience of their situation, and accord- 
ingly wrote to their native land, about the year 1874, asking 
for a priest. They did not, however, succeed. 

But in April, 1875, Rev. Anton Klowitzer, a Polish priest, 
entered the diocese and lodged for a time with the pastor of 
St. Michael's Church, South Side. He visited his fellow- 
countrymen in the different parts of the city, and said Mass 
for them in the basement of that church. Believing that the 
greater part resided near St. Philomena's — which is now 
known to have been an error — he purchased the church, as 
has been said, in the autumn of 1875. After undergoing the 
necessary alterations it was dedicated by the Bishop October 
loth of the same year, and is the only Pohsh church in the two 
dioceses. 

The building has stood perhaps twenty years, and shows 
signs of age. But it is still substantial, and is about 60 feet in 
length by 40. in width, and has no steeple. The interior has a 
gallery over the entrance and along the sides. The style of 
finish is chaste and simple but not expensive. But the colors 
are too striking to please an American taste. Here our 
Polish friends indulge on certain festivals in devotions and 
ceremonies that appear novel to us, but which have been 
brought from Fatherland and serve to carry the memory and 
affections back to it. A part of the basement, which is half 
beneath the surface, has been fitted up for a school, and here 
the good father himself taught the children till after some 
months, when a teacher was employed. Another small portion 
was made to answer the purposes of a pastoral residence, 
where the zealous priest, Hke the prophet Elizeus, rested after 



1 84 RECAPITULATION. 

his labors. But a brick house was built in 1877. Toward the 
end of that year Fr. Klowitzer withdrew to a Polish colony in 
the north-west, and was succeeded by Rev. E. Bratkiewicz. 
But he withdrew in December, 1878, and the church was 
without a pastor for some months. One of the Fathers of the 
Holy Ghost from the Catholic College offered up the Holy 
Sacrifice for the people on Sundays, and one of the Passionist 
fathers, acquainted with their language, visited their sick. At 
length, in August, 1879, Rev. John Gratza came to Pittsburg 
and was appointed pastor of the congregation. 

The congregation comprises about two hundred families, 
all of whom belong to the poorer class ; but they are possessed 
of a faith and piety quite unusual in our day. There is little 
probability that any material change will take place for years 
to come in their numbers or condition. Besides these there 
are no other Polish Catholics in the two dioceses, with the 
exception of a dozen or more families at Natrona, twenty-three 
miles up the Allegheny River. 

RECAPITULATION. 

To recapitulate. We have seen that the Catholic population 
of Pittsburg and Allegheny was so small and insignificant in 
the early years of the present century that the place was 
visited as a station from Brownsville. In 18 10 — but seventy 
years ago — the first priest, Rev. F. X. O'Brien, had just taken 
up his residence here, and had undertaken to build the first 
church, a diminutive edifice. There were no more perhaps 
than a dozen Catholic families at that time. But mark the 
change. In the two cities there are now, instead of one priest, a 
Bishop and sixty-two priests. Instead of an unfinished church 
and one Mass perhaps once, or at most twice, in the month — 
for, as Very Rev. Felix de Andreis remarked in a letter, al- 
ready quoted, Father O'Brien had a parish as large as ten 
dioceses — there are now two Cathedrals, fourteen English, 
eleven German, one Polish, and one Bohemian church, and 
nine large chapels, in which eighty-seven Masses are celebrat- 
ed every Sunday. Where there was then no religious order 
there are now seven orders of men and nine of women. To 



RECAPITULA TIOJV. 185 

this must be added seven charitable institutions, one college, 
two large and a number of smaller academies, with twenty- 
four parish schools taught by rehgious and three by laics. 
The Catholic population, which did not at that time exceed 
seventy souls, may now be fairly estimated at 70,000. " And 
the mustard-seed grew and became a great tree." 



CHAPTER XII. 

CHURCHES IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY. 

St. Joseph's Church, Verona — Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Plum Creek — St. 
James' Church, Wilkinsburg — Braddock's Field — Chapel at Tarra Hill — St. 
Thomas' Church — Death and sketch of Rev. Peter Hughes — St. Joseph's 
German Church — M'Keesport — St. Peter's Church — Death and sketch of 
Rev. M. Hoerer — and of Rev. Cajetan Kloeker — St. Agnes' Church, Bull's 
Run — St. Patrick's Church, Alpsville — St. Michael's Church, Elizabeth — 
Death and sketch of Rev. M. J. Brazill — Transfiguration Church, Mononga- 
hela City, Washington County. 

The congregations of Allegheny County, being in many 
cases offshoots of those of the two cities, are now to engage 
our attention. And first of those that lie east of the Allegheny 
and Monongahela rivers and belong to the Diocese of Pitts- 
burg. 

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, VERONA. 

Verona is situated on the eastern bank of the Allegheny 
River, ten miles above Pittsburg. At first it was known as 
Verner Station, AUeghen}^ Valley Railroad, but in process of 
time it grew and was incorporated as Verona borough in 
1 87 1. The first Catholic settlers of the vicinity were Ger- 
mans, who came to Pittsburg, and later to Sharpsburg, to 
hear Mass and comply with their religious duties. But as 
early as 1840 one of them, Adam Wirtz, bought fourteen acres 
of land and settled upon it, and when the number of Catho- 
lics had sufficiently increased fitted up a room in his house 
for a chapel. Here Mass was offered up at irregular inter- 
vals ; but it is impossible to determine at what time or by 
whom it first began to be celebrated. At length Mr. Wirtz 
died, leaving his property to the German Orphan Asylum on 
condition that it should build a chapel upon it. Sufficient 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, VERONA. 187 

ground for the site was given, but the chapel was not built. 
After the completion of the railroad, in 1855, the congregation 
increased. A native and Irish element was also introduced ; 
for up to this time it was exclusively German. Mass was now 
celebrated more frequently ; but the church was not under- 
taken until 1866. The Redemptorist fathers from St. Philo- 
mena's, who were ministering to the people, then took it in 
hand, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop July 23d 
of that year. The building was finished before the winter, 
and dedicated under the patronage of St. Joseph by Father 
Stiebel, but upon what day I have not been able to learn. It 
occupies a most ineligible site on the side of the hill, about 
half a mile from the river ; and is a frame building about 55 
feet in length by 38 in width, with a belfry over the entrance. 
It is chaste in appearance and finish, but without architec- 
tural pretensions. Mass was now celebrated once a month 
each by the Redemptorist and Passionist fathers, until 
August, 1870, when Rev. Joseph Siihr was appointed pastor 
of Verona and Wilkinsburg, with his residence at the latter 
place. For three years he celebrated Mass at both places 
every Sunday, riding from the one to the other, a distance of 
six miles, between the Masses. Finding the church too small 
he built an addition to it consisting of a recess for the altar 
and a sacristy, and had the interior otherwise improved and 
frescoed. There were then about sixty families, some of 
whom resided several miles distant. 

But in time the two congregations became too heavy a 
charge for one pastor, and in June, 1873, Rev. W. A. Burke 
was appointed to Wilkinsburg and Father Siihr was sta- 
tioned at Verona. A pastoral residence now became neces- 
sary, and he purchased lots on the hill near the church, where 
a part of the town is built, and erected a neat brick house. 
Lots are reserved in the same place for a new church when it 
becomes necessary. The buildmg of the railroad-shops here 
has induced a number of families to settle in the town, among 
whom are a few Catholics. 

In the middle of May, 1878, Father Siihr was transferred 
to the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pittsburg, and was, suc- 
ceeded by Rev. J. Rittiger, the present pastor. 



1 88 CHAPEL OF THE SACRED HEART, 

The congregation numbers at present about eighty fami- 
hes, but the German element is so far merged in the EngHsh 
that, although confessions are still heard in the former lan- 
guage, and the pastor is required to be familiar with it, there 
are no longer sermons preached in it. 

The small number of Catholics, and the distance especial^ 
at which many of them live from the church, have prevented 
the opening of a parish school, and will for a few years at 
least. But the prospects for the future growth and impor- 
tance of the congregation are flattering. 

CHAPEL OF THE SACRED HEART, PLUM CREEK. 

In the autumn of 1873 Father Siihr turned his attention to 
the spiritual welfare of a body of Catholic miners, about 
twenty families in number, that had settled on Plum Creek, 
about eight miles east from Verona. To this point the 
Allegheny Valley Railroad had lately laid a branch track for 
the purpose of shipping coal. Having visited the place a few 
times, he purchased a lot and determined to built a chapel. 
It was soon done, and in this simple little frame building 
Mass has since been celebrated at regular intervals. It can- 
not be doubted that this outpost will increase and become m 
time an independent congregation. But its growth and pros- 
perity will depend on the traffic to which it owes its rise. 

With this exception there are no Catholics in the north- 
eastern part of Allegheny County east of the river, nor in the 
western part of Westmoreland County, except in the imme- 
diate vicinity of Freeport, about eighteen miles above Verona, 
and a family here and there along the railroad. 

ST. JAMES' CHURCH, WILKINSBURG. 

The village of Wilkinsburg is situated on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, seven miles east of Pittsburg by that thoroughfare, 
although near the boundary of the city. It was founded some 
time prior to the year 1840, and was successively known as 
M'Nairsville, Rippeysville, and Wilkinsburg, the last of which 
was bestowed upon it in honor of Hon. W. Wilkins, at one 



ST. JAMES' CHURCH, WILKINSBURG. 189 

time U. S. ambassador to Russia. When the city Kmits were 
extended, in 1867, it became one of the eastern wards; but 
after a protracted litigation it was permitted to withdraw, and 
so it remains. 

The number of Cathohcs is small, and the principal part of 
the congregation resides at certain coal-mines about a mile to 
the north-east. At first the people formed a part of the con- 
gregation of Sts. Peter and Paul, East Liberty ; but being 
English they were at a disadvantage, and under the direction 
of Rev. J. M. Bierl, then pastor of that church, undertook the 
erection of one for themselves. A very eligible lot was pur- 
chased near the railroad, consisting of about an acre of ground, 
and work was commenced on a church. Upon its completion 
it was dedicated, under the invocation of St. James, by Father 
Hickey, Administrator, November 29th, 1869. The church is 
a frame building, about 55 feet in length by 30 in width, is 
simple in architectural style, and is surmounted by a belfry. 
But no resident pastor was appointed, although Mass was 
celebrated in the church, until August, 1870, when Rev. Jos. 
Siihr was stationed there, as we have seen, with the additional 
charge of Verona. He lodged at Wilkinsburg, and celebrat- 
ed Mass every Sunday, although as yet no residence was 
built. He continued to minister to the two congregations 
until June, 1873, when he confined his labors to Verona alone, 
and Rev. W. A. Burke was appointed to Wilkinsburg. The 
first care of the newly appointed pastor was to build a resi- 
dence, and the elegant brick house which he now occupies — 
for he is yet pastor of the church — is the fruit of his labors. 
No school has yet been opened, nor will be until the congrega- 
tion shall have grown larger. Like all the parishes depending 
upon mining or manufacture, St. James' suffered from the 
financial depression of 1873 ; but it is slowly recovering, and 
must continue gradually to increase in the future. At present 
it will not exceed eighty famihes, if it will reach that number. 

BRADDOCK'S FIELD. 

The reader will remember that Braddock's Field is on the 
eastern bank of the Monongahela River, about ten miles above 



190 



BRADDOCK'S FIELD. 



Pittsburg and a short distance below the mouth of Turtle 
Creek, and that it derives its name from General Braddock, 
who was there met and defeated bj the French and Indians, 
after an engagement of three hours' duration, July loth, 1755, 
as we have stated more at length in a previous chapter. But 
the town is of a much more recent date. The first white set- 
tler in the place was one John Frazier, an Indian trader. 
Washington speaks of him as having been driven from Ve- 
nango by the French, and it is probable that he came to Turtle 
Creek in the spring of 1753. He established a trading post 
on the bank of the river, immediately below the mouth of the 
creek, where he was visited by Major Washington on his mis- 
sion to the French. His name does not occur after the defeat 
of Gen. Braddock." 

A village began to spring up on the historic spot early in 
the present century, but it was not until the completion of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad to this point, in November, 185 1, that it 
began to attain to any importance. The ground rises gently 
from the river, and the railroad passes through the back of the 
town ; while the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad runs near the 
river. The Edgar Thompson Steel Works, built a few years 
ago and now being constantly enlarged, have added con- 
siderably to the size and importance of the place. The town 
was incorporated in 1867, and has at present a population of 
about 35oo.t 

CHAPEL AT TARRA HILL. 

But Cathohcs were not among the first settlers at Brad- 
dock's Field. On the opposite side of the river, however, a 
few farmers and miners located themselves, and a small brick 
chapel was built for them on the brow of the hill by one of 
the priests attached to the Cathedral. The place was called 
Tarra Hill, or Green Springs, and was usually visited on one 
Sunday in the month until after the church had been built at 
Braddock's Field and a regular pastor appointed, about the 
year 1863. From that date Mass was not celebrated, and the 

* Washington's Journal. 

f Hist. Alleg. Co., pp. 24, 161. 



ST. THOMAS' CHURCH, BRADDOCK' S FIELD. 191 

chapel, which seems never to have been dedicated to any 
particular saint, but which is yet standing, is now devoted to 
other uses. 



ST. THOMAS 

A few Catholic families at length found their way into Brad- 
dock's Field and Port Perry, on the opposite side of Turtle 
Creek, and Mass was occasionally celebrated, now in one place, 
now in the other, in a private house by one of the priests at- 
tached to the Cathedral. When this commenced or how long 
it continued is uncertain ; but at length the Bishop deter- 
mined to have a church erected. Rev. Jas. Treacy, of St. 
Bridget's Church, Pittsburg, visited the place and purchased 
a large lot ; but the organization of the parish and the erec- 
tion of the church were confided to Rev. Thos. O'Farrel, of 
the Cathedral. Work was commenced on the foundation, and 
the corner-stone was laid by Father O'Farrel April 22d, i860. 
The church stands on the front of a gentle rise, and thus affords 
a basement under half its length. This basement was finished, 
roofed in, and first opened for divine service October 14th, 
i860. But it was not until the end of two years that the 
church was finished and ready for dedication. The ceremony 
was performed by the Bishop October 28th, 1862, and the 
church was placed under the invocation of St. Thomas the 
Apostle. It is a brick building modelled after the Gothic 
style of architecture, and is rather substantial than elegant in 
its finish. The church was then about 50 feet in length by 40 
in width, — it has since been enlarged, — with a tower rising 
from the centre in front, of which only the brickwork is 
built. 

The congregation was visited from the Cathedral until 
February, 1863, when Rev. C. V. Neeson, one of the pro- 
fessors of St. Michael's Seminary, was appointed pastor, but 
with the obligation of residing and teaching at the seminary 
and visiting the church on Sunday. He was succeeded, at 
the end of 1866, by Rev. W. A. Nolan, who also resided at 
the seminary. At the end of October of the following year 
be gave place to Rev. Peter Hughes. He took up his resi™ 



192 



DEATH OF REV. PETER HUGHES. 



dence with the congregation, and in the latter half of 
built an elegant brick dwelling. 

About the year 1870 he built a cheap hall, which he soon 
after fitted up for school-rooms. Here school has since been 
held by lay teachers. The next year he enlarged the church, 
by the addition of about 25 feet to its length, and otherwise 
improved the interior. 

At length, after he had ministered to the congregation for 
eleven years, it pleased God to call Father Hughes to a better 
life. Few of his brother-priests had heard of his illness, when 
they were pained with the news of his death from cerebro- 
spinal meningitis on the evening of November 26th, 1879. ^^ 
was then in the 49th year of his age and the 24th of his minis- 
try. His illness was of short duration, but conscious that 
death must ensue he received the last rites of the Church, 
and calml}^ awaited the final summons. His funeral took 
place from St. Thomas' Church, and his remains repose in St. 
Mary's Cemetery, Pittsburg. 

Rev. Peter Hughes was a native of county Monaghan, 
Ireland. Having prosecuted his studies for some time in the 
seminary of St. M'Cartan, in the town of Monaghan, he emi- 
grated to the United States and entered the seminary of St. 
Charles Borromeo, Philadelphia. Upon the completion of his 
course of theology he was raised to the sacred dignity of the 
priesthood by Bishop O'Connor, in the Cathedral of Pittsburg, 
August 15th, 1856. He remained at the Cathedral as an assist- 
ant until October, 1859, when he was transferred to Murrms- 
ville. At the end of two years he was placed' in charge of the 
Huntingdon mission ; and when that was divided, in the spring 
of 1863, he located himself at Broad Top, in the same county. 
Here he built a church and residence ; and having ministered 
to the congregation until July, 1868, he came to Wilmore. 
At the end of October of the samiC year he was transferred to 
Braddock's Field, which was destined to witness the closing 
scenes of his labors. Father Hughes was a zealous and ener- 
getic priest, a man of well-defined views and principles, and 
an ardent advocate of right. 

Upon the death of Father Hughes, Rev. M. J. Mitchell, of 
the Mercy Hospital, Pittsburg, was appointed to the vacant 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, BRADDOCK' S FIELD. 193 

post ; but, owing to the size of the congregation, he is generally 
assisted on Sundays by a member of one of the rehgious 
orders in Pittsburg. 

The greater part of the congregation resides in the town, 
but there are a few members scattered through the surround- 
ing country to the distance of three or four miles. It is 
increasing at an encouraging rate in the present, and must 
continue to add to its members in the future. 



ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, BRADDOCK'S FIELD. 

In the course of time a German element began to infuse 
itself into the English congregation at Braddock's Field, and 
in the summer of 1877 the people petitioned for a church of 
their own nationality. Having considered the matter atten- 
tively, the Bishop acceded to their request, and at the end of 
August sent Rev. Anthony Fisher, lately ordained, to organize 
the parish. He rented a hall for the use of the congregation 
until such time as it should be able to undertake the erection 
of a church ; and Mass has since been celebrated there. He 
also rented a house for himself. A school was opened by a 
lay teacher in a room adjoining the church. Lots were also 
purchased as the site of a future church, and a temporary hall 
was built on them for fairs, etc. The congregation will num- 
ber perhaps sixty families, and is still under the pastoral care 
of Father Fisher. 

M'KEESPORT. 

The borough of M'Keesport is situated on the east banks 
of the Monongahela and the Youghioghenny rivers at their 
confluence, about fifteen miles south-east of Pittsburg. The 
Pittsburg division of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad passes 
through the town, and the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston 
Railroad passes up the opposite side of the Monongahela. 
The history of the place, both civil and rehgious, is interesting. 
Before the Indians had yielded possession to the white man 
they had a village there, the home of the celebrated Aliquippa, 
Queen of the Delawares. Her royal highness took offence at 



194 



ST. PETER'S CHURCH, M'KEE SPORT. 



Major Washington for not calling on her when on his way to 
the French posts, in the north-western part of the State, in the 
fall of 1753. But on his return, he says in his journal, " I made 
her a present of a watch-coat and a bottle of rum, which latter 
was thought much the better present of the two." In the 
year 1755 David M'Kee, a Scotch Presbyterian, settled there, 
and the place soon after became known as '' the Forks of the 
Yough" — the name by which the Youghioghenny River is 
frequently designated. A ferry was soon after established, 
by which pioneers crossed the Monongahela, and from which 
the place was also called " M'Kee's Ferry." At length, in 
1794, John M'Kee, a son of the original proprietor, had a town, 
which consisted of about two hundred large lots, regularly laid 
out. " The price of lots was twenty dollars, and the deeds 
were made by lottery for choice of position. Each person 
was to pay ten dollars when he purchased his ticket, and the 
remainder when his purchase was located and his deed 
secured. On the 26th of March, 1795, he had sold one hun- 
dred and eighty lots, but had as yet given no name to the 
town, and it was not till some time in November of the same 
year that the name M'Kee's Port was finally settled upon" 
— a name which in time assumed the present form. "As 
an incentive for parties to locate in the new town, it was 
told them that the place was ' twelve miles nearer to Phila- 
delphia' than Pittsburg."* It was not until September 3d, 
1842, when it contained a population of about 500, that it 
was incorporated as a borough. The present population is 
about 5000. 

ST. PETER'S CHURCH. 

The first Catholic families who settled in the town and 
its vicinity were Germans ; but it would now be difficult to 
determine the date of their arrival. This much, however, is 
known with certainty, that prior to the year 1846 they were 
sufficiently numerous to excite the zeal of the Redemptorist 
fathers of Pittsburg, who had already begun to visit them at 
regular intervals. The}^ were also visited at times from the 

* History of Allegheny County, pp. 162, 163. 



DEATH OF REV. N. HCERES. 



195 



Cathedral. In that year they purchased a lot and commenced 
to build a church. Providence smiled upon their labors and 
sacrifices, and the church was finished the following spring, 
when it was dedicated under the invocation of St. Peter the 
Apostle by Rev. M. Muller, C.SS.R., April 5th, 1847. This 
church was built of brick, and was about 50 feet in length by 
30 in width, with a small belfry. The congregation was 
visited from Pittsburg for about a year longer, after which 
time Rev. Nicholas Hoeres was appointed resident pastor, 
with the additional obligation of visiting certain other mis- 
sions further up the Monongahela. For several years he 
lodged in the sacristy of the church as best he could, but he 
finally built a small frame house near the church, in which he 
spent the closing years of his ministry. 

Nothing of special interest occurred until the summer of 
1862. At that time the railroad was opened through the 
town, and it was thought that by facilitating manufacture it 
would induce laborers to settle and thus increase the congre- 
gation, which up to that time had grown but little. But the 
congregation was destined to sustain a loss in the death of 
its zealous pastor, who for fourteen years had ministered to its 
spiritual necessities. Father Hoeres came to the diocesan 
seminary in company with many other priests to perform the 
exercises of the annual retreat. But hardly had he entered 
upon them when he was taken sick. After suffering for three 
days he gave up his soul to God on the i8th of July, 1862, 
surrounded by his brothers in the sacred ministry. The 
funeral took place from M'Keesport, where his remains re- 
pose. 

Rev. Nicholas Hoeres was born at Schleida, in the 
Grand Duchy of Saxe Weimar, Germany, in March, 1802. 
After having completed his studies in his native land, he was 
ordained in 1831. He came to America and to the Diocese of 
Pittsburg in 1846, and was assistant at the church in Loretto 
until he was transferred to M'Keesport. 

The first few years immediately succeeding his death were 
marked by numerous changes in the pastors of the church. 
Among these was Rev. Cajetan Kloeker, who was pastor in 
the early part of 1865. But finding that consumption was 



196 DEATH OF REV. C. KLCEKER. 

undermining his health, he withdrew to the Mercy Hospital, 
Pittsburg, where he expired on the i8th of May of that year. 

Rev. Cajetan Klceker was born at Hurbach, in Upper 
Bavaria, March 24th, 18 19. Having finished his course of 
studies, he was ordained in 1853. Like many other generous 
souls to whom the Church in this county owes a deep debt of 
gratitude, he was moved by the wants of the infant church, 
and came to minister where the harvest was ready but the 
laborers were few. In the Diocese of Pittsburg he labored in 
various missions, among which were St. Mary's, Allegheny, 
where he was assistant for a time ; then he was pastor of St. 
Mary's, Chartier's Creek ; St. John the Baptist's, Harman 
Bottom ; Sts. Peter and Paul's, East Liberty ; St. Mary's, Pine 
Creek ; and finally the church from which he was called to his 
reward. 

Among his successors, Rev. John B. Smith remained the 
longest. Up to that date the congregation was largely com- 
posed of Germans. But during his stay he built, about the year 
1868, a church at Bull's Run, about two miles from M'Keesport 
on the opposite side of the Monongahela, which drew away a 
large number of the Germans who lived on that side. The 
accessions to the congregation have been of English-speaking 
Catholics for the most part, so that the parish, although still 
containing a small nulnber of GeTmans, is now English. At 
length, 1870, the present pastor. Rev. James Nolan, was ap- 
pointed. The congregation had so far increased by this time 
as to demand more ample accommodations than were af- 
forded by the little church. To this the pastor directed his 
attention. A school-house was also needed. Accordmgly, in 
1872, he commenced the erection of a brick school-house 65 
feet in length by 32 in width and two stories high, the lower 
story of which was to be used as a school of two rooms, and 
the upper as the church till the new church should be built, 
which was to occupy the site of the old one. This building, 
which is neat and substantial, was finished early in the winter 
of the same year, and the room destined for a chur::h was 
dedicated by Bishop Domenec January 19th, 1873. In the 
following summer a frame dwelling-house, with the large lot 
upon which it stood, was purchased, and soon after it was con< 



DESCRIPTION OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH. 197 

siderably enlarged and became the residence of the pastor. 
At the same time the church was undertaken. The corner- 
stone was laid by the Bishop September 14th, 1873. The 
congregation had been rapidly increasing in the past few 
years, thanks to the erection of extensive iron-works which 
brought a large number of Irish Catholics, who are acknowl- 
edged on all hands to be the nerve and sinew of religion in 
this county, so far at least as the English element is con- 
cerned. Two years were required to complete the church, 
and during that time the panic prostrated business and 
limited the resources of this as of many other congregations. 
Sunday, September 12th, 1875, was the day set apart for the 
solemn ceremony of dedicating the new church, and prepara- 
tions were made in keeping with the magnificent temple that 
was to become the house of God and the place of his dwelling 
upon earth. The ceremony Avas performed by the Bishop of 
the diocese, and the sermon was preached by Bishop Ryan, of 
Buffalo. The church is one of the most substantial and beau- 
tiful in the diocese, and is in the pure Gothic style. It is 
built of brick, and is 130 feet in length by 65 in width, having 
a tower in the centre in front 175 feet high. In the interior 
the nave is 46 feet in height, but without a clerestory, and 
the aisles, which are separated from it by elegant pillars, are 
30 feet in height. There are three marble altars in harmony 
with the style of the church, which are separated from the 
body of the church by a massive railing that runs across the 
building. The pews, pulpit, gallery, organ, and confessionals 
are finished in a style in keeping with that of the sacred edi- 
fice ; while the windows are filled with stained glass m pleas- 
ing and appropriate designs. To the right of the entrance, 
in a recess prepared for it, stands the baptismal-font, enclosed 
by a tasteful railing. Taken as a whole, the church is en- 
titled to a place in the first rank among our churches m point 
of purity m the style of architecture and completeness of fin- 
ish. 

When the church was finished the chapel in the school- 
house was abandoned, and was divided into two school-rooms. 
The school was as yet in charge of lay teachers ; but in Sep- 
tember, 1876, a foundation was obtained of Sisters of Mercy 



IC|8 ST. AGNES' CHURCH, BULL'S RUN. 

from Pittsburg, who came to take charge of the schools. 
They took possession of the pastoral residence as a convent, 
which they still occupy, and the pastor rented a house for 
himself for a time. But in the fall of 1877 he built a frame 
house to the rear of the church, and thus completed all the 
buildings necessary for the congregation. 

The erection of so many buildings in so short a time 
necessarily left a considerable debt ; but this will yield in 
time to the prudence and energy that has been displayed in 
the management of the finances in the past. The congrega- 
tion is in a flourishing condition, and will number perhaps 
three hundred and fifty families ; and it has a far better pros- 
pect of increasing in the future than almost any other in the 
diocese. 

ST. AGNES* CHURCH, BULL'S RUN. 

St. Agnes' Church stands in a country place about two 
miles west of M'Keesport, on the opposite side of the Monon- 
gahela. The people residing in that neighborhood belonged 
in the beginning to the church at M'Keesport ; but becoming 
sufficiently numerous in time to build a church for them- 
selves, they determined to undertake it. Encouraged by their 
pastor, they commenced work about the year 1868. When 
finished the church was dedicated, under the invocation of 
St. Agnes, by the Bishop on the ist of August, 1869. Rev. 
J. Doffner was the first resident pastor. The church is a neat 
frame building capable of seating about four hundred ; and 
has a basement that has since been used for a school-room. 
When Father Doffner was transferred to St. Peter's, Pittsburg, 
Rev. Geo. Gunkle became pastor of St. Agnes', a position 
which he occupied until the fall of 1873. He was succeeded 
by Rev. John Willman. Prior to that date a house had been 
built for the pastor, and a school had been opened by a lay 
teacher in the basement of the church, which has continued 
with occasional interruptions to the present time. Towards 
the close of 1875 Father Willman withdrew, and the congre- 
gation was deprived of a resident pastor, but visited every 
Sunday by one of the Capuchin fathers from Pittsburg. At 



ST, PATRICK'S CHURCH, ALFSVILLE, 



199 



length, in October, 1877, the present pastor, Rev. Fred, Eberth, 
was transferred from Freeport to St. Agnes'. 

The congregation is composed almost exclusively of Ger- 
mans, and contains perhaps one hundred and twenty-five 
families, miners and farmers. Its future increase will be very 
moderate if we are to judge from present indications. 



ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, ALPSVILLE. 

Alpsville is situated on the eastern bank of the Youghio- 
ghenny River, about twenty-one miles from Pittsburg, and on 
the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Being one of 
the many mining villages on the river, its fortunes fluctuate 
with those of the coal trade. Prior to the erection of the 
church, Mass had been celebrated in a private house on one 
Sunday in the month by the pastor of Elizabeth. When at 
length the number of Catholics had considerably increased it 
was determined to build a church. The organization of the 
parish and the erection of the church were confided to Rev. 
P. M. Ward, one of the professors of the diocesan seminary. 
The corner-stone was laid by Bishop Domenec September 
23d, 1866; and the church was dedicated, under the invoca- 
tion of St. Patrick, by Very Rev. T. Mullen, V.G., September 
1st of the following year. It is a brick building about 75 feet 
in length by 35 in width, and has a steeple rising from the 
centre in front. The style of architecture approaches the 
Gothic. There are three altars, and the whole interior is 
elegantly finished, making it one of the most beautiful of the 
smaller churches of the diocese. Father Ward resided a part 
of the time with the congregation and a part at the seminary, 
and continued to fill the position of pastor until permanently 
located in the city about the beginning of 1871, when Rev. 
Peter May became pastor of St. Patrick's. He built a small 
frame school-house soon after his appointment, to which he 
transferred the school from the rented room in which it had 
already been taught for at least three years. Having re- 
mained until June, 1873, he was transferred to Mansfield, and 
succeeded by Rev. John Staub. During his pastorate the 



200 ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, ELIZABETH. 

panic fell upon the country, and Alpsville has not yet recovered 
from its prostrating effects. 

He was succeeded after an interval by the present pastor, 
Rev. Jas. M'Tighe. 

For a few years after the erection of the church, stations 
were held further up the river at Sutersville and Smithton, 
as will be seen when we come to treat of the church in West- 
moreland County ; and after having had a resident pastor for 
a short time, they again reverted to the pastor of Alpsville, 
and so they remain at present. 



ST. MICHAEL S CHURCH, ELIZABETH. 

Elizabeth, or Elizabethtown as it was originally called, is 
situated on the eastern bank of the Monongahela River, 
twenty-two miles from Pittsburg, and is the oldest town in 
Allegheny County. The original owner of the place was 
Thomas Monroe, who obtained a patent for the land upon 
which the town is built in 1769. In 1784 Stephen Bayard 
purchased the land and laid out the town, naming it Eliza- 
bethtown in honor of his wife. In its early history it obtained 
a small measure of notoriety for boat-building. It was not 
incorporated, however, until April 5th, 1834; and its popu- 
lation in 1870 was about 1196." On the opposite side of the 
river, which is very narrow here, is West Elizabeth, with a 
population of 590, through which the Pittsburg, Virginia 
and Charleston Railroad passes. Like the entire Mononga- 
hela Valley, Elizabeth is principalh^ noted for its trade in 
coal. 

Catholics settled in the river valley from Brownsville down 
early in the present century ; but their number was so small 
as not to form the nucleus of a congregation until a compara- 
tively recent date. They were occasionally visited by a priest 
from BroAvnsville or Pittsburg, from as early as 1830; and 
when their numbers had sufficiently increased to form a 
regular missionary station they were visited at fixed times by 
one of the priests attached to the Cathedral, and were known 

* Histon' of Allegheny County, p. 162. 



THE MONONGAHELA VALLEY. 201 

as " the river missions." Time passed, and the CathoHc popu- 
lation increased, especially after the coal trade began to assume 
its present gigantic proportions. The first notice we have of 
the formation of a parish at Elizabeth is in the year 1849, 
when, and for a year or two longer, the mission — for as yet 
there was no church — was visited by Rev. N. Hoeres, of 
M'Keesport. The erection of a church was soon after com- 
menced ; and upon its completion it was dedicated under the 
invocation of the Archangel St. Michael, September 28th, 
1 85 1. It is an unassuming brick building, about 60 feet in 
length by 35 in width, is surmounted by a small spire, and has a 
sacristy built against the rear. It occupies a commanding 
position at the back of the town. The congregation was now 
placed under the jurisdiction of the pastor of Brownsville, 
who visited it generally on one Sunday in the month. The 
pastor of M'Keesport, it would appear, also paid the church 
an occasional visit. At length, in the summer of i860, Rev. 
Thos. Quinn w^as appointed first resident pastor ; but he with- 
drew after a short time. In the autumn of the following year 
Rev. Denis Kearney became pastor. One of his first acts was 
the purchase of a neat brick house near the church ; for pre- 
vious to that date the congregation possessed no residence 
for the pastor. He also purchased a small piece of ground 
about half a mile from the town for a cemetery. But his 
labors were not confined exclusively to Elizabeth. Mononga- 
hela City and a number of stations were also dependent on his 
ministrations. Then as now St. Michael's received but every 
alternate Sunday. It may be stated here, once for all, that 
there have always existed at different points along the river, 
from Brownsville down to M'Keesport, a number of stations 
at different coal-mines, which were, and still are, visited on 
week-days as often as the spiritual necessities of the people 
require or the circumstances of the pastor permit; for the 
Catholic population is composed of miners, with a very small 
number of farmers. Father Kearney remained at Elizabeth 
until the beginning of 1867, when he was transferred to 
Sharpsburg, and Rev. W. F. Ha3^es became pastor. Soon 
after his appointment he built a small wooden school-house, 
and opened a school with a lay teacher. But it was difficult 



202 DEATH OF REV. M. J. BRAZILL, 

to continue it, owing to the fact that a large number of the 
children hved on the opposite side of the river, which they 
could not cross without danger and expense. It was soon 
closed, and has not since been opened, nor will it be for many 
years from present indications. Father Hayes was succeeded 
in March, 1871, by Rev. M. J. Brazill, who remained until 
declining health forced him to withdraw in the autumn of 
1872. He stopped at the episcopal residence for a short time, 
and then retired to the Mercy Hospital, where the disease, 
consumption, from which he suffered terminated his edifying 
life, November 9th, 1873. 

Rev. Martin J. Brazill was a native of Ireland, where, 
having pursued his studies for some time, he determined to 
devote himself to the American mission. He crossed the 
Atlantic and entered the diocesan seminary of Pittsburg. 
Having finished his course of theology he went to Dubuque, 
of which diocese his uncle. Very Rev. J. F. Brazill, was and 
is yet Vicar-General, where he was ordained in the beginning 
of 1867. Having labored there for about three years, he 
visited his native land. On returning to America he obtained 
permission to attach himself to the Diocese of Pittsburg, 
and in April, 1870, was appointed pastor of the church at 
Cameron Bottom. From there he was transferred to Eliza- 
beth. At the time of his death he was about thirty years 
of age. Few young priests were more highly or more 
deservedly esteemed than Father Brazill. 

Rev. P. M. Garvey now became pastor of Elizabeth, a 
position which he continued to occupy until the fall of 1877, 
when, after a brief interval, he was succeeded by the present 
incumbent. Rev. Francis M'Court. 

Owing to the fluctuations of the coal trade, the intrigues 
of employers, and the strikes of miners, a congregation of 
miners is one of the most fickle of earthty things. It may 
count a hundred families to-day, and not more than half that 
number in half a month. This being kept in mind, the nearest 
approximation perhaps that can be made to the number of 
families at Elizabeth would be to place it at about seventy. 
The circumstances of such a congregation are as fluctuating 
as its numbers; for when "in" the miners generally make 



MONONGAHELA CITY. 



203 



good wages, but when " out" they are frequently reduced to 
the verge of starvation. The Catholic will increase with the 
growth of the general population. 



CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION, MONONGAHELA CITY, 
WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

This church, although not in Allegheny County, is and 
always has been so intimately connected with that at Elizabeth 
that it is most appropriately sketched in connection with it. 
Monongahela City is situated on the west bank of the river of 
the same name, thirty -one miles from Pittsburg, and is on the 
line of the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston Railroad. It 
was first known as Parkinson's Ferry, and was a noted cross- 
ing for pioneers. During the Whiskey Insurrection — from 
1791-94 — it was the scene of the most important meetings. 
The name was afterwards changed to Williamsport, which in 
turn gave place, about the year 1840, to the present designa- 
tion."^ Its moderate growth may be ascertained from the fact 
that while in 1840 it had a population of 752, it had increased 
to but 1078 in 1870. 

The first Mass celebrated in the town was on Palm Sunday, 
1835, by Rev. J. O'Reilly, from St. Paul's, Pittsburg, although 
Mass had been celebrated for several years at a place about 
three miles back of the town, where half a dozen families 
lived. Later the town was visited from Brownsville. But 
from the time that a resident priest was appointed for Eliza- 
beth it was attached to that mission, and generally visited on 
every alternate Sunday. The Catholics increased very gradu- 
ally, although even yet there are but few in the town, the 
greater part being distributed among the mines along the 
river in both directions; and it was not until 1865 that a 
church was thought necessary. The corner-stone was laid by 
the Bishop August 13th of that year, and the church when 
completed was dedicated by the same prelate some time in 
the course of the following year under the title of the Trans- 
figuration. In its style, proportions, and material it is the 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 669-671. 



204 ^-^-^ TRANSFIGURATION CHURCH. 

counterpart of that at Elizabeth. The congregation, too, is of 
precisely the same character, and is of about the same numeri- 
cal strength. The increase will be very moderate, and it will 
be a long time before Monongahela City will require a resident 
pastor. The Protestant population of that part of the Mo- 
nongahela valley, being well seasoned with Calvinistic leaven, 
is by no means liberal. The Catholic population suffers con- 
siderably from the evil effects of mixed marriages. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CHURCHES OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY (CONCLUDED). 

St. Philip's Church, Broadhead — St. Luke's Church, Mansfield — Death and sketch 
of Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon — St. Joseph's German Church, Mansfield — St. Patrick's 
Church, Noblestown — St. Mary's German Church, Chartier's Creek — St. 
James' Church, Sewickley — St. Mary's German Church, Glenfield — St. Al- 
phonsus' Church, Wexford — St. Teresa's Church, Perrysville — St. Mary's 
Church, Pine Creek — Death and sketch of Rev. M. Eigner — St. Joseph's 
Church, Sharpsburg — St. Mary's German Church — St. Anne's Church, Millvale. 

ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, BROADHEAD. 

The spot occupied by this church — for there is neither 
town nor village — was so named in honor of Col. Broadhead, 
at one time commander at Fort Pitt. From an early day a 
few Catholic families settled in the vicinity. Before the erec- 
tion of the church they attended the Cathedral, and occasion- 
ally Mass was celebrated for them in one of their own 
dwellings. 

At length a Mr. Philip Smith, of Philadelphia, who owned 
property in the vicinity, donated a lot sufficient for a church 
and cemetery ; and the erection of the building was soon 
after undertaken. Upon its completion it was dedicated by 
Bishop Kenrick, July 25th, 1839, under the invocation of St. 
Philip the Apostle, that name having been selected out of 
gratitude to the donor of the site. The church is a small 
brick building, about 40 feet in length by 25 in width, with 
low ceiling, one altar, and a little belfry, and is situated on 
the northern side of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis 
Railroad, near Crafton Station, about three miles south-west 
of Pittsburg. The fortunes of this church, like those of nearly 
all the smaller country churches, have been varied. At first 



2o6 MANSFIELD. 

a priest visited it from the Cathedral ; but in the autumn of 
1840 it, together with two or three others, was confided to 
the care of Rev. A. P. Gibbs, who resided in the city and 
visited it on one Sunday in the month. At the date of the 
formation of the diocese it was said by the Bishop to contain 
150 souls. From 1844 it was visited for a few years by Rev. 
Thos. M'Cullagh, and after him by others, usually once in the 
month, until the organization of St. James' congregation, 
Temperanceville, 1854, when the two formed one mission for 
about twelve years. The church was then enlarged by the 
addition of perhaps 25 feet to its length. After that time it 
was attached to St. Luke's Church, Mansfield, or St. Mary's, 
Chartier's Creek, except for the time that it had a separate 
pastor, and was visited every Sunday. During the summer 
of 1874 it had a resident pastor. Rev. John Ward ; but it 
again became dependent until the fall of 1877, since which 
time it has again a resident pastor. 

Little change has taken place in the congregation beyond 
a very moderate growth ; and a part of this was cut off for 
the benefit of surrounding churches. The construction of the 
railroad enhanced the importance of the place by inducing 
some of the wealthier families of the city to build residences 
in the vicinity. Although numbering no more perhaps than 
forty families, it is more flourishing than many that are larger. 
But its future growth will be necessarily slow, and it will be 
many years before its condition will undergo any notable 
change. The congregation has never been able to open a 
parish school or build a pastoral residence. The present 
pastor is Rev. Jas. Kenoy. 

ST. Luke's church, mansfield. 

Mansfield is a flourishing borough, about seven miles south- 
west of Pittsburg, on the line of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and 
St. Louis Railroad, at the point where the Chartier's Valley 
road, branches off to Washington, Pa. It took its name from 
Mr. Mansfield Brown, original proprietor of the land, and was 
incorporated as a borough in 1872. The town owes its im- 
portance principally to the coal-mines in the vicinity and to 



ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, MANSFIELD. 207 

the residences which business men of Pittsburg have erected 
there. A small amount of manufacturing is also carried on. 
The ground upon which the town is built is undulating, with 
the exception of the valley of the creek, which is low and 
damp and frequently threatened with inundation. 

Catholics were among the first inhabitants. But in the 
beginning they heard Mass at St. Phihp's, Broadhead, or 
came to the city on the cars. At length, in October, 1866, 
Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon was appointed pastor of Washington 
and the missions attached to it. It was at this time that 
Mansfield began to attain the proportions of a town, and give 
promise of becoming a place of future importance. Father 
Scanlon, who knew well the importance of securing property 
as soon as possible, cast about him for the site of a future 
church. He first purchased a lot in the northern part of the 
town near the creek, which had a frame house erected on it. 
A room was fitted up in it and became the first church in 
Mansfield. In June, 1868, Rev. Thos. M'Enrue was ordained 
and stationed at Washington, while Fr. Scanlon confined his 
labors exclusively to Mansfield, which was fast becoming a 
flourishing congregation. From that date the town has been 
favored with a resident pastor. Mass may have been cele- 
brated before the arrival of Fr. Scanlon, but of this there is 
no authentic record. But the new purchase was low and 
damp, and unsuited for the erection of a large building. 
Seeing this he soon after purchased another lot, not far from 
the former, having a small brick residence and a little frame 
store-room on it which had before been used as a warehouse 
for wool. The store was converted into a chapel, and dedi- 
cated by the Bishop July 28th, 1867, under the invocation of 
St. Luke ; although for a long time after it Avas better known 
as ''the Catholic wool-house." But it was soon crowded to 
excess by the rapidly increasing congregation, and additional 
accommodations were demanded. A new part was then 
built to the rear. The front is now two stories high and the 
rear only one, but this one as high as the front two, which 
leaves the church unrivalled in styte. The whole is 70 feet 
long by 25 Avide, and is as neatly finished and decorated in the 
interior as its peculiar character will permit. But the pur- 



2o8 DEATH OF REV. J. O'G. SCANLON. 

chase was an unfortunate step, the site being less fitted for a 
church than the former lot. 

In the midst of its prosperity the congregation was des- 
tined to sustain a loss in the death of its zealous pastor. 
His health, which had of late been giving way under his un- 
tiring labors, was much more impaired than either he or his 
friends imagined. With a view of recruiting it he retired to 
the Mercy Hospital about the beginning of May, 1871. But 
his course was run, and he expired somewhat suddenly on the 
morning of the 8th of May, in the thirty -third year of his age 
and the ninth of his ministry. His funeral took place from the 
Cathedral, and was one of the largest ever witnessed in the 
city. His remains were interred in St. Mary's Cemetery ; and 
a beautiful monument was erected over them soon after by 
the congregation for whose spiritual welfare he had so gener- 
ously toiled. 

Rev. John O'Gorman Scanlon was born in the barony 
of Dushallow, county Cork, Ireland, in 1838, and, having 
completed his course of studies in the Missionary College of 
Carlo w, he came to this country in the company of three other 
students in the summer of 1862, and entered St. Michael's 
Seminary. On the 7th of the following February he was 
ordained, and was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Church, 
Kittanning. Having labored in that mission until December, 
1865, he was transferred to St. Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek, 
where he remained until his appointment to Washington. He 
was a man of unusual energy and perseverance, and had with 
these a degree of enthusiasm in the cause of religion which 
made him feel in his element when grappling with difficulties. 

He was succeeded by Rev. W. A. Nolan, during whose 
pastorate the congregation continued to increase so rapidly as 
to render a new church indispensable. The unfitness of the 
site of the old church, as well as the fact that it was not thought 
by many to be sufficiently central, led them to prefer another 
location. It was soon found, yet work was commenced on 
th-e foundation of a new edifice near the old one in the spring 
of 1873. But it became necessary to discontinue until greater 
harmony should prevail. At the end of June Fr. Nolan was 
transferred to Freeport, and was suceeded by Rev. P. May 



THE GERMANS AT MANSFIELD. 209 

The panic soon after prostrated business, and the new church 
was left to a future time. About the same time a pastor was 
appointed for St. Philip's Church, and the priest at Mansfield 
has since been left to St. Luke's alone. After two years Fr. 
May was succeeded, in July, 1875, by Rev. Thos. Walsh. 
During- this time the congregation, although as numerous as 
before, had deteriorated in wealth and importance, owing to 
the general prostration of business. The numerous strikes 
among the coal-miners in this and in every part of the coal 
regions are a misfortune generally as great for the miners 
themselves as for their employers and the public. They have 
their grievances as well as other classes, but they seek a most 
imprudent way of redressing them ; and many, if not the 
greater part, being Catholics, their ill-directed course is not 
unfrequently laid to the charge of the religion they profess. 
Fr. Walsh gave place, April, 1877, to Rev. Hugh Haggerty, 
the present pastor. The condition of the congregation has 
considerably improved, and it is destined in time to become 
one of the most flourishing and important congregations out- 
side the city. The new church was at length commenced in 
August, 1879, ^^^ ^s at present in course of erection. It will 
be in the Gothic style, 120 feet in length by 54 in width, with 
a tower in the centre in front. 

A school was taught for several years in the room over the 
church; but it was discontinued in the year 1877, until the 
circumstances of the congregation should improve. 

The pastor of this church also visits and ministers to the 
spiritual necessities of the few Catholic inmates of the Alle- 
gheny County Home, a State charitable institution situated 
about three miles from Mansfield, on the Chartier's Valley 
Railroad. 

ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, MANSFIELD. 

In Mansfield, as in nearly all other towns, a German ele- 
ment soon began to infuse itself into the English. As their 
numbers increased they determined to build a church for 
themselves ; and for this purpose a meeting was called on the 
8th of June, 1879. ^ committee was appointed to carry out 



2io ST, PATRICK'S CHURCH, NOBLESTOWN. 

the designs of the meeting ; lots were purchased, and work 
was commenced. The corner-stone was laid by Rev. W. 
Pollard September 21st, 1879 5 ^^d the church when finished 
was dedicated by the Bishop, under the patronage of St. 
Joseph, on New Year's Day, 1880. The church is a brick 
building 30 by 65 feet, and is chaste and simple in style and 
finish. Rev. J. Stillerich was soon after appointed pastor. 
The congregation numbers about seventy-five families. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, NOBLESTOWN. 

Noblestown, on the line of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and 
St. Louis Railroad, fifteen miles south-west of Pittsburg, takes 
its name from Henry Noble, who settled there about the 
year 1773. But it owes the little importance it has to the ex- 
tensive coal-mines and stone-quarries operated in the vicinity. 
Soon after the opening of the railroad, about twenty-two 
years ago, a number of Catholic families began to be at- 
tracted to the mines ; but it does not appear that Mass was 
celebrated in the village before the autumn of 1865. For 
some months subsequent to that date Rev. J. Stillerich, of St. 
Mary's Church, Chartier's Creek, visited the place, and a 
church was contemplated. It was next attended from Wash- 
ington, and constituted a part of that mission until the ap- 
pointment of a resident pastor. In the fall of 1866 Rev. J. P. 
Tahaney rented a hall for the accommodation of the little 
flock, and from that time Mass was celebrated on one Sunday 
in the month. He was succeeded by Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon, 
who bought a house for the priest. But the Washington 
mission was soon after divided, and he located himself at 
Mansfield, as has been said. Rev. Thos. M'Enrue being sta- 
tioned at the former place. He immediately took the church 
in hand, and succeeded in erecting the existing edifice. I 
have not learned the date of its dedication ; but it was proba- 
bly in 1869. The church is a brick building about 70 feet in 
length by 35 in width, and has a tower in the centre in 
front. 

Father M'Enrue was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Canivan in 
January, 1873. But it now became necessary to divide the 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH, CHAR TIER'S CREEK. 211 

Washington mission once more and appoint a resident pastor 
to Noblestown, and Father Canivan was stationed there in 
June. But the panic soon after set in, and the congregation, 
which up to that time had enjoyed unusual prosperity and 
Avas growing apace, was reduced to the verge of want from 
the complete cessation of work in the mines and quarries 
upon which the people depended. No other congregation in 
the diocese was so utterly prostrated ; and many families have 
since been on the verge of starvation. Father Canivan was 
succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. E. Murray, in Sep- 
tember, 1877. 

In the days of its prosperity the congregation numbered 
perhaps eighty families, American and Irish with a few Ger- 
mans ; but at present, although slowly rising^ from its pros- 
tration, it is much smaller. There are also a few families of 
French who should be Catholics, but who have fallen away 
from the faith. The future of the congregation will depend 
upon that of the coal trade ; but the Catholic population must, 
in the nature of things, increase. 

It remains to be seen what effect the opening of the new 
Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railroad, which traverses the south- 
ern bank of the Ohio River a distance of twenty-seven miles, 
will have upon the increase of the Catholic population. The 
rise of villages on the line will doubtless add to their number ; 
biit it is highly probable that manufactories will be erected, 
laborers brought together, and new congregations established 
in a few years. 

ST. Mary's German church, chartier's creek. 

This little church stands on the banks of Chartier's Creek, 
about a mile south of the Ohio River and four miles west of 
Pittsburg, and was built under the direction of the Passionist 
fathers from. St. Michael's Church, Pittsburg, to which, or to 
the church at Broadhead, three miles distant, the people had 
formerly belonged. The corner-stone was laid by Father 
Luke in the summer of 1855, and the church was probably 
dedicated some time in the following year, but the precise 
date has not been ascertained. In size, style, and material 



212 SEWICKLEY. 

it is the exact counterpart of that at Broadhead. After hav- 
ing been attended for a year or two from St. Michael's, a 
resident pastor was appointed, an advantage which it has 
since continued to enjoy. But the changes were frequent, 
and the names of all have not been transmitted to us. The 
present pastor is Rev. J. Zwickert. Near the church stands 
a frame pastoral residence, one room of which is now, and 
has for many years been, used for a school, in which a lay 
teacher instructs the children of the parish. The congrega- 
tion is composed of German farmers and city gardeners, a 
frugal, industrious, and thrifty people ; and it will probably 
number no more than sixty families. 

ST. JAMES' CHURCH. 

Crossing the Ohio River we reach the borough of Sewickley, 
which is on the north bank sixteen miles below Pittsburg. 
*' It is one of the most favorable situations on the Ohio, and 
has been settled by wealthy families, who have united in 
making it an elegant suburban place of residence. For this 
purpose they have strenuously opposed all attempts to in- 
troduce manufactories into the place, and have even refused 
to give their support to such necessary institutions as hotels. 
Consequently, although it is a place of between two and 
three thousand inhabitants, there is at present (1873) not a 
single public house within its limits. . . . The borough was 
incorporated in 1854."* 

The first Catholics of the place were a few families, princi- 
pally Germans, living in the vicinity and a few servant-girls 
employed in the houses of the wealthier citizens (for good 
Catholic girls are sought after, and generally find situations 
without much difficulty about Pittsburg.) Rev. Jas. Reid, of 
Beaver, was the first to look after the spiritual necessities of the 
people. He secured a lot, and built a cheap little frame church, 
probably about the year 1862. But the date is uncertain, 
as are all dates relating to this church ; for notwithstanding 
that I have been at more pains to secure reliable information 

* History of Allegheny County, p. 174. 



ST. JAMES' CHURCH, SE WICK LEY. 213 

regarding- this than any other of the smaller churches, I cannot 
flatter myself with the success of my efforts. No one, it would 
appear, takes an interest in it. Fr. Reid continued to visit 
the place until the year 1868, when Rev. J. Zwickert was ap- 
pointed resident pastor. Soon after his arrival he determined 
to replace the existing church by a more imposing edifice, and 
with the consent of the proper authority he undertook it, 
although as yet the congregation was quite small. The church 
was built; but, owing to grave defects in the plan, it fell to 
the ground when the workmen had finished the roof. Nothing 
daunted, he commenced another. It was completed and dedi- 
cated, and must always remain one of the most unaccountable 
instances of miscalculation ever witnessed in this country. For 
while the congregation will number no more than thirty 
families, with perhaps forty servant-girls, and has no prospect 
whatever of doubhng itself in the next twenty-five years, the 
church, which to some extent is modelled after the Gothic 
style of architecture, is about 130 feet long by 50 feet wide, 
and has a tall spire in the centre in front. The interior is 
furnished with three altars, gallery, etc., and the ceiling rises 
steep from the sides to the centre, following the inclination of 
the roof. If it was not for the heavy walls and buttresses, the 
roof, which is not framed so as to be in a measure self-sus- 
taining, would by its thrust force the walls asunder and leave 
the building a heap of ruins. The church could without diffi- 
culty be made to accommodate a congregation of five hundred 
families. 

The history of the congregation has been uneventful save 
that its existence has been an incessant struggle with the 
heavy debt incurred in the erection of the two churches ; and 
the future will be but a repetition of the past. As to increase, 
it is almost imperceptible. In the summer of 1877 Father 
Zwickert was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Rommelfanger, who re- 
mained until the latter part of May, 1 879, when the congregation 
was visited by a priest from Pittsburg until the end of August, 
when Rev. J. Price became pastor. What the future of the 
parish is destined to be it would be hazardous to conjecture. 
A school has at different times been taught in the old church, 



214 ^^' MARY'S CHURCH, GLENFIELD. 

which is yet standing. After an interval it was resumed about 
two years ago, and continues to the present time. 



ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, GLENFIELD. 

This church is situated in a country place two miles north 
of the Ohio River, at a point about twelve miles below Pitts- 
burg. It was formerly called the Kilbuck church, the town- 
ship in which it stands being so named from Kilbuck, a Dela- 
ware Indian chief. " It is said by some of the old residents 
that Kilbuck is buried in the township, and an Indian grave is 
still shown as his. As there are several warriors who bore 
that name, it is quite possible that the assertion is correct ; but 
Captain Henry Kilbuck, from whom the run was named, died 
and was buried near Wheeling, West Virginia." * The place 
was then named Glendale, which has lately been changed to 
Glenfield. 

The Catholics who compose the little flock settled here 
many years ago — it would be difficult to fix the date — but 
the church, like other German churches in this part of the 
diocese, is due to the zeal of the indefatigable Father StiebeL 
As near as can be ascertained it was built in 1853, and dedi- 
cated some time in the course of the following year. It is a 
small, neat frame building, surmounted by a miniature belfry. 
For many years it was visited on one Sunday in the month by 
a priest from St. Mary's Church, Allegheny ; but after the 
appointment of a resident pastor for Sewickley, it became a 
part of his mission and was visited every alternate Sunday. 
But about the year 1873 it was transferred to the pastor of 
Rochester. When Father Rommelfanger came from the lat- 
ter place to Sewickley, the church was left under his jurisdic- 
tion, and was visited as before. 

The congregation is composed exclusively of farmers, and 
will not exceed thirty families ; and any change from its pres- 
ent condition will be very gradual. 

* History of Allegheny County, p. 165. 



ST. ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, WEXFORD, 215 



ST, ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, WEXFORD. 

The church at Wexford is situated in a country place on 
" the old Franklin road," — running from Pittsburg to Frank- 
Hn, — and is about twelve miles north of Pittsburg. After the 
division of the diocese it was uncertain for a time to which 
diocese it belonged ; and indeed it was claimed by both in 
the Catholic Directory iox 1877. But a more accurate survey 
of the dividing line proves it to be within the Diocese of 
Pittsburg. Wexford is an old Cathohc settlement, the first 
families who arrived and the greater part even at the present 
day being Germans. Bishop O'Connor informs us that at the 
time of the erection of the See of Pittsburg — 1843 — there was 
a brick church and a congregation of about two hundred and 
fifty souls. The site upon which it stood was donated by a 
Mr. Shafer. But at what time or by whom the church was 
built cannot be known with certainty. It appears most prob- 
able that it was built under the direction of the Redemptorist 
fathers of Pittsburg, and a short time before the arrival of the 
Bishop. It was afterwards blown down, as the same prelate 
informs us, and was replaced by the present small brick edi- 
fice.^ But all that we know of the date at which it occurred 
is that it was before the Bishop resigned his see ; that is, before 
the year i860. The congregation was attended from Pitts- 
burg, Allegheny, or Sharpsburg (with the exception of the 
year 1846, when Rev. Jas. Reid, of Beaver, ministered to the 
people) until the appointment of a resident pastor, about the 
close of the year 1864. Rev. S. T. Mollinger was then ap- 
pointed pastor of Wexford and the new congregation of 
Perrysville. From that time it has until lately enjoyed the 
advantages of a resident pastor. The congregation is com- 
posed of farmers, and, being far removed from railroad 
communication and manufactories, can hardly be said to have 
increased at all m the last thirty years. Its numbers at 
present will not exceed those given by Bishop O'Connor. 

Early in 1879 Rev. J. Steger, the pastor of St. Alphonsus', 
was transferred to another field of labor, and the congregation 

* Diocesan Register. 



2i6 ST. TERESA'S CHURCH, PERRYSVILLE. 

was united with that of Perrysville, under the jurisdiction of 
Rev. A. Holdapfel, of the latter, who offers up the Holy Sac- 
rifice in both places every Sunday, riding a distance of six 
miles between the two Masses. This arrangement will prob- 
ably continue for several years to come. 

ST. TERESA'S CHURCH, PERRYSVILLE. 

We now return to the Diocese of Allegheny. Perrys- 
ville is a village situated on '' the old Franklin road," about 
seven miles north of Allegheny City, with which it is con- 
nected by a plank-road. The first person who settled at the 
place where the village now stands was Casper Reel, who 
built a log cabin there in 1794. The village, however, is of 
much later date. The Catholics who compose the little con- 
gregation were formerly attached to the churches of Alle- 
gheny; but in 1864 Rev. S. T. Mollinger was appointed 
pastor of Wexford, with the additional care of the Catholics 
of Perrysville. It is probable that he offered up the Holy 
Sacrifice for them in a private house for some time ; but be 
that as it may, he undertook the building of a church in 1866, 
the comer-stone of which was laid by the Bishop on the 4th 
of July. The church was completed by the autumn of the 
following year, and was dedicated by the Bishop, under the 
invocation of St. Teresa, on the 6th of October. It is a very 
neat and substantial brick building, and, although small, will 
be sufficient for the accommodation of the people for many 
years to come. Father Mollinger was transferred to Troy 
Hill in June, 1868, since which time there have been several 
changes of pastors. The present incumbent. Rev. A. Holdap- 
fel, has been there for the last three years. The congregation 
is mixed German and English, but the former predominate. 
As yet it is quite small and will not exceed thirty lamilies in 
number, with the prospect of a very moderate future m- 
crease. 

st! Mary's church, pine creek. 

St. Mary's Church is situated in the valley of the stream 
from which its name is taken, and about four miles north of 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH, FINE CREEK. 217 

Sharpsburg. I have already stated, when speaking of St. Philo- 
mena's Church, Pittsburg, that this was the first congregation 
formed from it, and consequently the second German congre- 
gation organized in the county. After laboring zealously for 
the building up of the mother-church, the people turned 
their attention to the building of a church for themselves. 
It was erected about the year 1841, on a site donated by an 
Irish member of the congregation. But further particulars 
of its early history are not to be had, except that Bishop 
O'Connor states, in the Diocesan Register, that at the time of 
his consecration there was a log church and a congregation 
of four hundred souls. The church was under the jurisdic- 
tion of one of the priests attached to St. Philomena's, who 
visited it on one Sunday in the month until about the year 
1848, when it passed into the hands of Rev. A. P. Gibbs, of 
Sharpsburg. He visited it generally twice in the month, and 
a German priest came out occasionally from Pittsburg. About 
the year 1855 it was attached to St. Mary's, Allegheny, from 
which it was visited until the appointment of a resident pastor, 
the date of which is uncertain. 

Rev. Michael Eigner, one of those who visited the con- 
gregation in this manner, was taken sick with consumption 
and died at the Mercy Hospital April 7th, 1862. Little is 
known of this good priest beyond that he was ordained for 
the Diocese of Pittsburg by Bishop Whelan, of Wheeling, in 
August, 1859. ^^ does not appear to have been anywhere 
else than at St. Mary's, Allegheny. 

The congregation, which is composed almost exclusively 
of farmers, nearly all of whom are Germans, had increased 
but little during these years. But the circumstances of the 
people had undergone a favorable change from the time they 
built the log church, and they determined at length to re- 
place it by an edifice more becoming the exalted purpose for 
which it was destined. A new church was accordingly com, 
menced in the spring of 1867, and the corner-stone was laid 
by the Bishop on the 22d of April. On the 28th of November 
of the same year it was dedicated by the same prelate. The 
church is a neat and substantial brick building about 80 feet 
in length by 40 in width, and has a steeple rising from the 



2i8 SHARP SB URG. 

centre in front. A school-house was also built and a school 
opened by a lay teacher ; but the date is uncertain. Rev. J. 
Kuenzer is the present pastor. The congregation, although 
not increasing much and having but little prospect of in- 
crease in the future, will yet number about one hundred 
families. It would have been larger had it not been that 
parts from the outskirts were attached to other congregations 
of a more recent date. 



ST. JOSEPH S CHURCH, SHARPSBURG. 

The borough of Sharpsburg is situated on the west bank 
of the Allegheny River, about four miles north of Allegheny 
City. Pine Creek, w^hich empties into the river immediately 
below, separates the town from ^tna borough. Sharpsburg 
takes its name from James Sharp, w^ho settled there in the 
fall of 1827 and subsequently owned the land upon which the 
town is built. It was incorporated as a borough in 1841, and 
has at present a population of about 3500.* A considerable 
amount of iron manufacture is carried on in the town and its 
immediate vicinity, and it is to this especially the place owes 
its importance. The Western Pennsylvania Railroad passes 
through it, as the canal formerly did. 

The first Catholics who settled in the borough heard Mass 
either in Pittsburg or at the church on Pine Creek ; but a 
church was contemplated as early as February, 1847. Mass 
was celebrated in the town probably for the first time by 
Father Gibbs in the course of the same year, but in the room 
of a house until the erection of the church. The first bap- 
tism recorded is by him, and is dated November 21st, 1847. 
But the church was not undertaken until the following year, 
when the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 25th of 
June. It was finished the following spring and dedicated by 
the same prelate, under the invocation of St. Joseph, April 
29th. The church was a plain substantial brick building 85 
feet in length by 40 in width, but without a steeple. A school 
appears to have been opened about the same time, but 

* History of Allegheny County. 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, SHARFSBURG. 219 

whether it was continued without interruption in the years 
immediately following cannot be stated with certainty. 

As yet the English and Germans formed but one congre- 
gation, although the latter appear to have constituted the 
majority. But in January, 1853, they were organized into a 
separate congregation, although continuing to use the church 
until their own was built, as will be seen presently. Nothing 
beyond a moderate growth marked the flow of time, except 
that the pastor transferred his residence to Lawrenceville 
in the spring of 1854. But he continued to minister to the 
congregation until February, 1863, when he gave place to 
Rev. W. A. Nolan. He remained until May, 1 866, during which 
time the congregation furnished no special matter for his- 
tory. The same may be said of the pastorate of Rev. P. 
Kerr, who succeeded him, ancj who remained until February 
of the following year. Rev. Denis Kearney was now ap- 
pointed pastor. The congregation began about this time to 
enter upon a season of greater prosperity than it had enjoyed 
at any previous period ; and its numbers were increasing 
more rapidly. 

About the year 1869 Father Kearney built a very neat 
brick residence, and about the same time erected a two-story 
brick school-house, 27 by 50 feet, which is one of the most 
elegant and substantial buildings of the kind in the diocese. 
The schools from this time until recently were taught by the 
Sisters of Mercy, who came daily by the cars from the House 
of Industry, Allegheny. A large lot was purchased, upon 
which it was proposed to build a convent for Sisters when 
circumstances should be favorable for the undertaking. The 
congregation was now at the zenith of its numerical strength 
and prosperity, and contained perhaps a little more than two 
hundred families. The old church Avas crowded, and it was 
thought best to build a more commodious edifice. Work was 
begun upon it, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop 
on the 4th of May, 1873. Occupying the site of the old one, 
the walls were built around it, and it was left standing for the 
use of the congregation as long as it was possible. The 
church, although not quite finished in the interior, was dedi- 
cated by the Bishop July 19th, 1874. The sacred edifice,^ 



220 ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH. 

which is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is 
120 feet in length by about 55 in width, and has a tower in 
the centre in front finished at present to the comb of the roof. 
The ceiling, like that of several other churches built about the 
same time, rises ribbed from the sides toward the centre, and 
is supported without the aid of columns. There are three 
altars, which are as yet temporary, and are to be replaced by- 
others more in harmony with the style of the church. Few 
churches of the diocese have been built with greater care or 
are more substantial than St. Joseph's. But the panic which 
set in before its completion reduced the congregation both in 
numbers and ability, and left them a burden of debt that it 
will require many years to liquidate. 

After the division of the diocese Fr. Kearney came to St. 
Paul's Cathedral in April, 1876. After an interval he was 
succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. G. S. Grace, at the end 
of August. 

. Although the congregation must, in the nature of things, 
increase in the future, it is dialler now than it was ten years 
ago, and will not aggregate more perhaps than one hundred 
and fifty families. A brighter prospect seems now to be 
opening before it. 

In August, 1879, Father Grace placed the schools in the 
hands of a number of Sisters of Charity from Altoona, who 
as yet occupy a rented house as a convent. 

ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, SHARPSBURG. 

German Catholics were among the first citizens of Sharps- 
burg. In the beginning, however, they heard Mass in Pitts- 
burg, and later, when the church was built at Pine Creek, a 
number of those living in that part of the county attached 
themselves to the church there. But when the English church 
was opened in the town many of them went to form a part 
of its congregation, as has been said. At length it was 
deemed expedient for the Germans, who were already in the 
majority, to have their own church. The duty of organizing 
the new congregation and erecting the church was confided 
to the Redemptorist fathers of St. Philomena's Church, Pitts- 



BURNING OF ST. MARY'S. 221 

burg, and the work was undertaken January ist, 1853. They 
used the English church, however, until their own was ready 
to receive them. A site was purchased at the back of the 
town,; near the foot of the hill; work was commenced, and 
the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop early in the summer 
of 1853. Upon its completion the church was dedicated, 
under the invocation of the August Mother of God, on the 
1 8th of June, 1854. But it had passed, in the course of its 
erection, into the hands of the secular clergy, Rev. C. N, Sorg 
having been appointed pastor in the preceding February. 
The new edifice was a brick building, 115 feet in length by 55 
in width, and had an unpretending belfry over the entrance. 
But the whole building was not occupied by the congregation. 
Rooms in the rear were devoted to the purpose of a residence 
for the pastor. A basement extended back more than half 
the length of the building, and was partitioned off into school- 
rooms, in which a school was immediately opened by lay 
teachers. The congregation inc^-eased at a very encouraging 
rate, and was composed to a great extent of farmers, not a few 
of whom lived at a distance of six or eight miles. At length 
Father Sorg was called to another mission, February, 1856, 
and Rev. J. Tamchina became pastor. But in May of the 
same year he likewise withdrew, and the congregation re- 
verted to the Redemptorist fathers, who ministered to it 
from St. Philomena's until August, 1865. It then returned 
to the secular clergy, and Rev. J. A. Shell was appointed 
pastor. 

The church had never been a very substantial building, 
and it was soon found necessary to bind the walls near the 
roof by means of iron rods to prevent them from spreading. 
Wishing to add to the solemnity of divine worship, the pastor 
had a new organ built at a cost of $1800. When the building 
of the instrument was completed preparations were made for 
a grand opening of it. The church was crowded for the 
occasion, on the evening of January 4th, 1866, when to the 
dismay of all it was discovered that the building was on fire, 
and, despite all that could be done to arrest the flames, the 
entire structure with the pastoral residence was consumed. 
The fire is thought to have originated from a lighted candle 



222 A NEW CHURCH UNDERTAKEN: 

having been placed too near some artificial flowers under the 
back of the altar. 

Nothing was left for the congregation but to return with 
its pastor to the English church until such time as a frame 
story could be built on the basement walls of the burnt build- 
ing, to serve the purpose of a temporary church. It was 
completed in May. Work was commenced on a new church 
with the opening of spring, and the corner-stone was laid by 
the Bishop May 27th, 1866. A year after the church was 
finished and ready for dedication, and in the absence of the 
Bishop the ceremony was performed by Very Rev. T. Mullen, 
V.G., June i6th. The sacred edifice is built of brick, and is 
134 feet in length by 60 in width. In the centre in front is an 
unusually massive tower, which rises square to the height of 
perhaps 125 feet. It was the intention of the architect to 
finish it in a pyramidal spire, but the foundation began to 
show signs of giving way, and the design was abandoned 
after the tower had been roofed. The church is commodious 
and neatly finished, but lacks architectural design. In 1868 
Father Shell built a brick residence. Having left these 
monuments of his zeal and energy, he was transferred to St. 
Mary's Church, Allegheny, April 26th, 1869, and Rev. A. 
Rosswogg succeeded him. He was in turn succeeded by 
Rev. J. B. Schmidt, January 4th, 1870. The congregation 
had so far increased that an assistant priest became necessary 
,early in the summer of 1873. About the same time Father 
Schmidt had the church frescoed, and had a new high and 
two side altars erected. All three are after fine Gothic 
models, and are of polished chestnut and very beautiful. 
Having remained for four years. Father Schmidt was suc- 
ceeded, April 20th, 1874, by a colony of the fathers of the 
Congregation of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart 
of Mary, who came from Alsace after it had passed under 
the sway of the German emperor. Rev. Joseph Strub, a man 
of great learning and administrative ability, and the leader of 
the little band, was the first pastor of the church ; but he has 
since been elected provincial of his congregation in the 
United States, and another of the fathers is pastor of the 
church. Before his departure Father Schmidt had placed 



MILL VALE. 



223 



the schools under the care of the Sisters of St. Francis, from 
the mother-house in Pittsburg, who occupy part of the school 
building as a convent. 

The congregation has increased but little since the panic, 
but is still in a flourishing condition and must gradually grow 
in the future. It will number at present about four hundred 
and fifty families, or perhaps more. 

ST. ANNE'S CHURCH, MILLVALE. 

The borough of Millvale is situated in a valley on the west 
bank of the Allegheny River, between Allegheny City and 
Sharpsburg. Previous to the incorporation of the borough, 
in 1868, the place was known as Bennett's Station, from the 
extensive iron-works of Graff, Bennett & Co., in operation 
there. 

The Catholic families that had settled there attached them- 
selves to the church at Sharpsburg until the Forty -third Street 
bridge was built across the river, which put them in direct 
communication with St. Mary's Church, Forty-sixth Street, 
Pittsburg, after which time they formed a part of that congre- 
gation. But as their number was steadily increasing, it was 
thought best to have them build a church for themselves. 
Lots were purchased and a church was undertaken under the 
direction of Father Gibbs. The corner-stone was laid by the 
Bishop September 24th, 1874, and the church when finished 
was dedicated by the same prelate May 2d of the following 
year. The church, which is a plain frame building about 70 
feet in length by 30 in width, stands back a short distance 
from the river. It was attended from St. Mary's until the 
erection of the See of Allegheny, when it was for some time 
attached to Troy Hill. But later it was placed under the 
charge of Rev. Jas. Richert, of the Congregation of the Holy 
Ghost, attached to the German church at Sharpsburg, and so 
it remains. The congregation consists of about seventy-five 
German and thirty English families, the former of whom are 
anxious to separate and form a distinct congregation. This, 
although a misfortune to the other portion, which would in 



224 ^^- ANNE'S CHURCH. 

that case be left to carry a considerable burden of debt, must 
eventually take place. The Germans bought lots and built a 
brick school-house, some distance from the church, and 
opened a school in it in January, 1876. The congregation 
has a promising future before it. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CATHOLICITY IN SOUTH-WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 

General remarks — St. Anne's Church, Waynesburg — St. James' Church, West 
Alexander — Death and sketch of Rev. D. Hickey — Church of the Immaculate 
Conception, Washington — St. James' Church, Claysville — Other stations in 
Washington and Greene counties — Fayette and Somerset counties — Scenery, 
aborigines, Indian paths — First settlers — Brownsville — First Catholic settlers 
— Pittsburg visited as a station from Brownsville — St. Peter's Church, 
Brownsville — Uniontown — St. John's Church — Farrington mission — Gen. 
Braddock's grave — Church of the Immaculate Conception, Connellsville — St, 
Aloysius' Church, Dunbar — Le Mont Furnace mission — St. John the Baptist's 
Church, Scottdale — St. John the Baptist's Church, New Baltimore — St. Mat- 
thew's Church, Meyersdale — Death and sketch of Rev, Thos. Fitzgerald — 
Stations: Ursina, Sand Patch, Wellsburg. 

In order not to pass too abruptly from one part of the 
diocese to another, we shall, after leaving Pittsburg and Alle- 
gheny counties, turn our attention to the south and thence to 
the east, where the church was first planted among us, and 
from which it extended its branches in various directions. 

Under the name of South-western Pennsylvania is here 
understood Washington, Greene, Fayette, and Somerset 
counties, with that part of Beaver that lies south of the Ohio 
River. It embraces more than one third part of the Diocese 
of Pittsburg according to the last division ; yet it is the most 
unfruitful portion of the vineyard, and cannot boast one 
thousand Catholic families, notwithstanding that laborers 
were engaged in it before the close of the last century. The 
part of Beaver County included in the territory contains no 
Catholics whatever, except perhaps two or three families on 
the river opposite Rochester. Washington County may have 
one hundred and fifty families, and Greene less than twenty- 
five. The barrenness of this district is to be attributed to two' 
principal causes: its settlement by the strictest school of 



2 26 GENERAL REMARKS. 

Presbyterians, whose bigotry has successfully stood the test 
of time and reason,* and the absence of minerals, which pre- 
vented manufactories from being built and a foreign Catholic 
element from being introduced to plant the faith. Another 
cause of the tardy growth of the church is that, while the 
number of Catholics was too small to support sufficient resi- 
dent priests to minister frequently to them, they lived too far 
from the city to be so attended from without. Their attach- 
ment to the faith, which is fostered by frequently witnessing 
the ceremonies of the Church and hearing its doctrines ex- 
plained and defended, became weakened ; the instinctive 
hatred of error grew less intense ; and some fell away through 
negligence, w^hile others became entangled in the meshes of 
mixed marriages. These causes operate more fatally on 
American Catholics than on those of foreign birth ; and as 
they are still as powerful as ever, but slender hopes can be 
entertained of the future increase of the Catholic population 
in this part of the diocese. 



ST. ANNE S CHURCH, WAYNESBURG, GREENE COUNTY. 

Greene County, originally a part of Washington, was 
organized by an act of Assembly of February 9th, 1796. It 
occupies the extreme south-western corner of the State, and 
has an area of 597 square miles. The rolling character of the 
surface and the nature of the soil are better adapted for 
grazing than for grain. Waynesburg, the county-seat, was 

* As an evidence of what has been stated in the text the following incident 
may be given, which, although savoring of the fabulous, may yet be authenticated 
by any one who will be at the trouble of visiting the spot where it occurred. 
When the Jefferson Presbyterian College was built at the village of Cannonsburg, 
about ten miles north of Washington, Rev. Robt. J. Breckenridge, D.D., was 
appointed president. When superintending the building of the house that was 
destined to serve as his residence, he came one day and found that the doors, made 
after the usual pattern and already hung, had the semblance of a cross in the 
parts between the panels. So intense was his hatred of the least sign of " popery" 
that he ordered the doors to be removed forthwith, and others, made of ordinary 
tongued-and-grooved boards, substituted for them. The house, with its " anti- 
popery" doors, is yet standing for the inspection of the incredulous and the edifica- 
tion of the elect 



REV. FATHER LANIGAN. 



227 



laid out when the county was estabHshed, and was incorpo- 
rated as a borough in 18 16. The land was purchased from 
Thos. Slater, and the lots were sold, in conformity with the 
law, for account of the county. The borough is situated in a 
delightful valley, one mile from the centre of the county, 
thirteen from the southern and seventeen from the western 
boundary of the State, and had in 1870 a population of 1272.'^ 
Between the years 1795 and 1799 — the precise date cannot 
be ascertained — Rev. Fr. Lanigan, O.S.F., came to the Catho- 
lic settlement in Westmoreland County, where St. Vincent's 
Abbey now stands, and took charge of the congregation. But 
finding himself unable to abide in peace, owing to the line of 
conduct pursued by the unhappy Fr. Fromm, he set out in 
company with a few members of the congregation in search 
of a place where they could found another colony. Coming 
to West Alexander, Washington County, they purchased 
several thousand acres of land, and returning brought out the 
colony. Not being pleased with the place after a closer in- 
spection, they sold it, and purchased a site near Waynesburg, 
Greene County. Here the colony established itself perma- 
nently. f How long Fr. Lanigan remained with his little flock 
it is impossible to determine at this time ; but his name occurs 
in the early history no later than 1801, although it is certain 
that he visited various settlements during that year. It is 
equally impossible to trace the religious history of these 
pioneers and to learn by whom they were ministered to. 
They generally, however, formed, as they still do, a part of 
the Brownsville mission, and shared its fortunes. The first 
authentic account begins with the year 1833 — a period which, 
though long, would be marked by few changes in those days 
worthy of the historian's attention. In this year the erection 
of a brick church was commenced, but whether it was the first 
church built there or not I cannot learn. I am inclined, how- 
ever, to the opinion that it was not, both because the colony 
would hardly exist so long without a place of worship and 
also because the first churches of the backwoods are seldom 



* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 358, 361. 
f St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, pp, 70, 71. 



228 WEST ALEXANDER. 

brick. Be that as it may, the church was dedicated by Bishop 
Kenrick, under the invocation of St. Anne, July 28th, 1839. 
The Catholics were few in number, and were scattered around 
the country to a considerable distance. Since the completion 
of the church Mass has been celebrated as a rule on one Sun- 
day in the month. At the time of the erection of the See of 
Pittsburg, Bishop O'Connor sets the number of souls in the 
congregation at 164. The first settlers were Irish and German. 
No changes worth recording took place until about the 
year 1852, when the church fell down. So few and poor were 
the people that they did not undertake the erection of a new 
one for almost twenty years, but assembled in a room to hear 
Mass. At length, about the year 1869, when Rev. H. M'Hugh 
Avas pastor of Brownsville, it was determined to rebuild the 
fallen temple. It was finished, and was dedicated by the 
Bishop October 9th, 1870. The congregation is smaller now 
than it was fifty 3^ears ago, and will count no more than twenty 
families, and it has little hope of increase in the future. The 
narrow-gauge railroad, now open from Pittsburg to Waynes- 
burg, will render access less difficult. This will be the first 
sound of a steam-engine within twenty miles of the town. 

ST. JAMES' CHURCH, V^EST ALEXANDER, WASHINGTON 

COUNTY. 

West Alexander is a village thirty-eight miles south-west of 
Pittsburg, and within a very short distance of the western 
boundary of the State. It was founded before the close of 
the last century, and owes its origin and early importance to 
the fact that it lay on the Southern Turnpike, the great thor- 
oughfare between the east and west before the days of canals 
and railroads. But its glory has long since vanished, and al- 
though on the line of the Hempfield Railroad, which connects 
Washmgton with Wheeling, it is of no present nor prospec- 
tive importance. It is the only place in the diocese in which 
a church existed for a time and was afterwards abandoned. 

Catholics of Irish birth came here from the Monongahela 
valley as early as 1825, the pioneers being Ch. Dougherty and 
M. Egan. A log-church was built at an early day, but the 



DEATH OF REV. D. RICKEY. 229 

date is uncertain ; it was, however, before the erection of 
the See of Pittsburg, at which time Bishop O'Connor gives 
the CathoHc population at 107 souls. After the first visit of 
Bishop Kenrick, in the summer of 1837, the church was 
visited at regular intervals from Brownsville. In the course 
of time the log church was replaced by a brick one, and in 
1852 the first resident priest, Rev. D. Hickey, arrived. For 
two years he ministered to his small scattered flock, until his 
health failed, and after a brief illness he died, October 5th, 
1854, and was laid to rest among them. 

Rev. Daniel Hickey was born in county Kilkenny, Ire- 
land, and after completing, or almost completing, his studies 
came to this country and diocese, where he was ordained in 
1852. At the time of his death he was but thirty years of age. 

The cessation of traffic caused by the construction of 
canals and railroads opening other routes induced a number of 
Catholics to withdraw from the congregation, and it was found 
more conducive to the interests of religion to abandon the 
church and erect one at Claysville, to be noticed hereafter. 
The church was torn down a few years ago. 

CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, WASHINGTON. 

Washington County was the first established by the legisla- 
ture after the declaration of independence, having been taken 
from Westmoreland by the act of March 28th, 1781. Its di- 
mensions were reduced in 1788 and 1796 by the formation of 
Allegheny and Greene counties, so that it comprises at present 
an area of but 888 square miles. The surface of the county is 
undulating and in some parts hilly ; but there are no moun- 
tains, and the hills are seldom too steep for cultivation. The 
county was originally settled by Scotch-Irish from Bedford 
and York counties and from the Kittatinny valley, from Vir- 
ginia, and directly from Ireland, and all belonged to the Pres- 
byterian sect ; and although Germans and others have since 
come in, the descendants of the original settlers still predomi- 
nate, and their influence prevails in the manners and religious 
and literary institutions of the county.* 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 658, 659. 



230 LITTLE WASHINGTON. 

Few towns in the State are moLre delightfully situated 
than Washington, or ''Little Washington " as it is frequently 
called, which was founded in 1782. It is built on an undulat- 
ing ground, near the head of the Chartier's Valley, about 
twenty-five miles south-southwest of Pittsburg, with which it 
is connected by the Chartier's Valley Railroad, and is sur- 
rounded by one of the most beautiful of landscapes. It has a 
population of about 6000, and contains many elegant private 
residences. But notwithstanding the natural advantages of 
the town, the Catholic population is very small, and, owing 
to the causes enumerated at the beginning of this chapter, 
gives little promise of increasing even moderately in the 
future. Presbyterianism in its darkest and most bigoted 
form here reigns supreme. Here, too, is situated Washing- 
ton and Jefferson College, with its two or three hundred stu- 
dents and its staff of reverend professors of the same denomi- 
nation. The former lodge about the town, and have an effe(^t 
upon the religious and moral tone of the place of which dif- 
ferent persons form different opinions. There is also a young 
ladies' academy. Under such circumstances it is not to be 
wondered at that there should be the profoundest ignorance 
of our holy religion, and that even enlightened minds should 
speak in good faith of priest's horns, etc. 

It is impossible to determine the precise date of the arrival 
of the first Catholic settlers; but Rev. P. Rafferty, then as- 
sistant at St. Paul's, Pittsburg, is thought to have celebrated 
the first Mass in the town about the year 1831. Three years 
later Bishop Kenrick, without visiting the place, established 
a mission to be attended at regular, though distant, intervals 
from Brownsville, of which Rev. Fr. Mazzachelli was then 
pastor. In 1841 the building of a church was resolved upon, 
and a site was purchased. But to such a degree did religious 
prejudice prevail that persons who had purchased lots in the 
vicinity of the church lot gave them up, and no one could be 
found willing to build under the shadow of a Catholic church. 
Yet this took place in an enlightened and liberal (!) com- 
munit]^ and in the nineteenth century. While such a feeling 
prevailed it was deemed imprudent to build a church, and 
the lot was accordingly sold. But another lot was pur- 



CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 231 

chased in a different part of the town, March 5th, 1842, to be 
held until such time as a church could be prudently erected. 
In the mean time the place continued to be visited as before, 
and the changes in pastors were more frequent than those in 
the congregation. At length Rev. D. Hickey, noticed above, 
was appointed pastor in 1852, with his residence at West 
Alexander. Soon after his appointment he commenced to 
build the church, which, though small, was yet a heavy tax 
on the ability of the congregation. But the good pastor did 
not live to witness its completion, having died, as we saw 
above, October 5th, 1854. He was succeeded by Rev. John C. 
Farren. The church upon its completion Avas dedicated by 
Rt. Rev. R. V. Whelan, Bishop of Whe*eling, under the invo- 
cation of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, August 26th, 1855. It is a brick building, simple in 
style, and is 55 feet in length by 35 in width, has one altar, a 
gallery, and a small belfry. Strange as it may appear, it is 
almost adjoining the grounds of the college. 

Soon after the completion of the church Washington be- 
came the residence of a priest and the centre of an extensive 
missionary district. But the priest has always been obliged to 
lodge in a hotel or with a private family. The Holy Sacri- 
fice is celebrated every Sunday, except during a part of the 
winter, when it is offered up alternately here and at Clays- 
ville, as we shall see. The pastor of Washington has care of 
the few Catholics in the entire county, with the exception of 
the Monongahela valley. He celebrates Mass once a month on 
a week-day at Cannonsburg, on the Chartier's Valley Railroad, 
about twelve miles north of Washington, for a very few fami- 
lies, principally employed on the railroad. He also visits the 
Pennsylvania Reform School (House of Refuge) at Morganza 
Farm, a few^ miles further north, once a week on a week-day, 
gives instruction, and generally says Mass. This is a great 
advantage to the Cathohc youth, who number about one 
third of the three hundred inmates. But so long as they are 
obliged to assist in the chapel on Sunday at the services of 
whatever minister chances to officiate, there is much still to 
be desired. The managers and officers, however, afford every 
negative though but Kttle positive facihty to the priest on his 



232 ST. JAMES' CHURCH, CLA YSVILLlt. 

weekly visits. I shall treat more fully of our destitute youth 
when speaking of St. Paul's Orphan Asylum. 

Rev. John Malady is the present pastor of Washington, 
and it may be questioned whether his congregation is larger 
now than it was thirty or forty years ago. If it be, the in- 
crease is almost imperceptible, and the past may be taken as 
a fair index of its prospects in the future. It will number at 
present about twenty families. "• 

ST. JAMES' CHURCH, CLAYSVILLE, WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

Glaysville is a small village eleven miles south-west of 
Washington, on the Hempfield Railroad. For several years 
before the abandonment of the church at West Alexander it 
was visited as a station by the pastor of Washington. But 
the number of Catholic families having increased, it was 
* thought best to erect a church for their accommodation. 
It was accordingly undertaken, was finished in the fall of 
1875, and dedicated, by the Bishop under the invocation of 
St. James, September 25th. It is a brick building, is 80 feet 
in length by 35 in width, and has a tower in the centre 
in front. The interior is neatly finished, and the whole is 
modelled after the Gothic style. From May to November 
Mass is offered up every Sunday, the priest celebrating an 
early Mass at Washington and then driving to St. James 
for the late one. But in winter this is impossible, owing to 
the condition of the roads, except when sleighing is good. 
Mass is then celebrated in the two places alternately. 

The future prospects of St. James' congregation are good 
— better than those of any other congregation in this part of 
the diocese ; and the day is probably not far distant when the 
pastor will reside here instead of at Washington. It will 
number at present about twenty-five families, composed 
principally of farmers, with a few men employed on the rail- 
road. 

Besides the churches and missions already mentioned, the 
pastor of Washington visits a few scattered families in two or 
three other places; but their number is so small as not to 
entitle them to special mention. The church at Monongahela 



FAYETTE AND SOMERSET COUNTIES. 



233 



City, in this county, has been noticed in connection with that 
at Elizabeth, Allegheny County, from which it has always 
been visitec. 

FAYETTE AND SOMERSET COUNTIES. 

No part of Western Pennsylvania presents more varied 
and beautiful scenery than that which is at present to engage 
our attention. Traversed by the Allegheny Mountains and 
the Laurel and Chestnut ridges, it is calculated to present all 
that is pleasing to the eye in natural scenery, and travellers 
on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, between Connellsville 
on the west and Bridgeport on the east of the mountains, can 
bear witness to the surpassing grandeur of the mountains. 
We cannot pause to dwell upon this, however, as being for- 
eign to our subject, but may occasionally refer to it in the 
course of our history. 

The political history is no less interesting. In the early 
settlement of the West, Fayette County especially played an 
important part. A warlike though less barbarous class of 
inhabitants appear to have occupied the territory prior to the 
Indians who were found upon it by the pioneer Europeans. 
Ruins of their fortifications are to be met with in various 
places.* Numerous Indian paths traversed the country, and 
were of considerable importance, particularly in the mountain 
regions, in determining the best routes for emigrants to follow, 
and afterwards for the State roads or turnpikes. The princi- 
pal of these, was Nemacolin s Path, which led from the spot 
where the city of Cumberland stands to the forks of the 
Ohio, the site of Pittsburg, as we saw when speaking of the 
latter city. A branch of this path led to Red Stone, the 
present Brownsville. There were other branches of minor 
importance. 

But from a religious point of view the history of these 
counties, though dating far back and promising much in the 
beginning, is almost as barren as that of Greene and Wash- 
ington counties. It was originally settled by Dunkers, whose 

* The Monongahela of Old, pp. 17-23. 



234 



BROWNSVILLE. 



hostility to the Church has to a great extent withstood the 
levelling hand of time. While this may have discoaraged the 
settlement of Catholics to some extent, the principal reasons 
were the dela}^ in developing the mineral resources and 
erecting manufactories ; but more especially is it due to the 
opening of the Penns3dvania Canal, which became the great 
thoroughfare from the East to the West and drew the atten- 
tion of emigrants to other parts of the country. But recently 
the mineral resources of the northern part of Fayette County 
have been considerably developed, manufactories have been 
erected to a limited extent, and in consequence a strong 
Catholic population is springing up, as we shall have occasion 
to note in the course of our remarks. To proceed, however, 
to the history of the separate congregations. 

BROWNSVILLE, FAYETTE COUNTY. 

Brownsville appears very early in the history of the western 
part of the State, and occupies a conspicuous place from the 
beginning. The advantages of its location will appear as we 
proceed and account for the prominent position it held during 
the latter half of the last and the early part of the present 
century — advantages which it was destined, in the nature of 
things, to lose with the march of civilization. Where the 
town of Brownsville now stands there existed at the date of 
the first settlement by the white man the ruins of one of those 
fortifications of which I have already spoken, known from 
the Red Stone Creek, which empties into the Monongahela 
at that point, as Red Stone Old Fort. Here, after the with- 
drawal of Ensign Ward from the fortification he was erecting 
at Pittsburg in the spring of 1754, Major Geo. Washington 
built a small fort, which was used after settlements began to 
be made in the surrounding country for the storage of ammu- 
nition and supplies." It is believed that the first settlers here 
were Wendel Brown and his two sons, who came in 1751 or 
I752.f But the great importance of Brownsville was that it 
stood at the head of navigation of the Monongahela, fifty- 

* The Monongahela of Old, p. 22. f Ibid. p. 79. 



CATHOLICS AT BROWNSVILLE. 235 

three miles b/ the river south of Pittsburg, and hence the 
spot — for the town was not yet laid out — became a place 
of rendezvous for emigrants '' down the river" to Kentucky 
and other places. By this route came nearly all the early 
missionaries to Kentucky, beginning with Father Whalen in 
1787. It was also the headquarters of spies during the Indian 
wars. '' The protection afforded by the posts and block-houses 
erected along the Monongahela attracted settlers, and soon a 
very considerable population found its way into the valley of 
that river and especially around Redstone. The importance 
of the place was gradually increased by the emigration that 
set in from the regions east of the mountains, after the close 
of the war, along Braddock's road to Redstone. ... It 
was not, however, until 1785 that the present town of Browns- 
ville was laid out on the site of Old Fort Redstone, and in the 
next year its population had increased to six hundred." * 
Brownsville was also the scene of the first outbreak of the 
excise troubles known as the " Whiskey Insurrection," in 
1 79 1-4. In 1870 it had a population of 1749. 

It would be difficult to fix the date of the first arrival of 
Catholics in the town and surrounding country ; but it is 
certain that a few Irish Catholics found their way thither a 
few years before the close of the last century. Rev. Father 
Lanigan visited them from Waynesburg, and a Rev. J. Sayer 
— whose name occurs nowhere else in our history — is said to 
have ministered to them for a time about the close of the 
century. Rev. P. Heilbron, who came to Sportsman's Hall 
— now St. Vincent's Abbey — in November, 1799, P^^cl them 
an occasional visit before the arrival of Rev. F. X. O'Brien. 
What consolation they were able to derive from his ministra- 
tions it is difficult to tell, for it is. said that he could never 
learn to express the simplest ideas in English. But of these 
visits we know absolutely nothing but the fact of their occur- 
rence. Fr. O'Brien came to Brownsville, as nearly as can be 
ascertained, early in the year 1806, and for a little more than 
two years remained, attending also the fev/ scattered families 
in the whole south-western part of the State. Incredible as 

* Annals oi- the West, p. 430. 



236 THE STA TE ROADS. 

it may appear, Pittsburg was one of these stations. But in 
November, 1808, he transferred the centre of his missionary 
labors to that city, and attended Brownsville at intervals. 
For the next twenty years the history of the congregation is 
extremely meagre in details, and all that is known with cer- 
tainty is that the number of Catholics gradually increased, 
and that they were visited generally from Pittsburg, although 
the priest at Sportsman's Hall ministered to them sometimes 
owing to the feeble health of Fr. O'Brien. Soon after his 
withdrawal the government began to construct the national 
roads, or turnpikes, upon which a large number of laborers, 
principally Irish Catholics, were employed.^ The '* South- 
ern Pike," from Washington City to the West, passed through 
Brownsville, adding materially to its importance. Naturally 
enough many of the laborers settled in the towns and country 
along the route after the completion of the work, and thus 
increased the Catholic population. But it must be admitted, 
though with regret, that, owing to the limited facilities af- 
forded for the practice of their religion, very many of them 
fell away from the Church, and intermarrying with members 
of the sects, became members of their false religions or prac- 
tical infidels. It is impossible to estimate the numbers that 
have been lost to the Church in this manner in every part of 
the diocese, but they may safely be placed at thousands. 

In the year 1807 Rev. Stephen Badin, as Archbishop 
Spalding informs us in his '' Sketches of Catholicity in Ken- 

* As reference will frequently be made to these roads in the course of our his- 
tory, it may be well to give the reader an idea of the route of the principal among 
them. They were: 

1. One from Washington City past Cumberland, Md., through Uniontown, 
Brownsville, near Washington, Claysville, and West Alexander to the West. 
This was known in Pennsylvania as "the Soutbem Pike." 

2. One from Philadelphia, passing through Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg, Sum- 
mitville, Ebensburg, Blairsville, and Greensburg t-o Pittsburg. This was com- 
monly called " the Northern Pike." From Pittsburg it divided, one branch pass- 
ing to Steubenville, O., another down the northern bank of the Ohio River, and 
another through Wexford to Franklin. 

3. One from Baltimore, passing through Bedford and Youngstown, united 
with the Northern Pike near Greensburg. 

4. And one from Ebensburg through Indiana, Kittanning, Butler, and New 
Castle into Ohio. 



ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BROWNSVILLE. 237 

tucky," stopped at the village of Brownsville on his way from 
Kentucky to Baltimore, and preached in the Methodist chapel 
there, after which Major Noble, who had been much im- 
pressed by the sermon, invited him to his house, which re- 
sulted in the baptism and reception into the Church of the 
entire family. This Major Noble appears to have held a 
prominent position among the Catholics of Brownsville ; for 
upon the visit of Bishop Egan to the western part of the 
State in the fall of 181 1 he called at Brownsville, where he 
celebrated Mass and administered confirmation in the house 
of that gentleman. Dr. Gallitzin also paid the place an occa- 
sional visit during the construction of the turnpike. It will 
afford an idea of the difficulties against which our forefathers 
had to contend when we are told they had no priest nearer 
than Loretto. It also illustrates the remark of Bishop Ken- 
rick that " some of our missionaries need the gift of tongues 
and a health of iron." 

ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BROWNSVILLE. 

We must pass over the intervening time and come to 
about the year 1830. A Rev. Father Curtis resided at 
Brownsville for a short time in the fall of this year. He 
was succeeded by Rev. Patrick Rafferty. What harvest the 
latter was able to reap in the spiritual order it is difficult to 
determine ; certain it is his temporal recompense was meagre 
enough. For after laboring about a year he returned to 
Pittsburg, having received during that time, besides his 
board, the sum of $3.62^. Upon his reaching the city 
Father M'Guire, then pastor of St. Patrick's Church, re- 
ceived him, and insisted upon his remaining within until he 
should go out and purchase a respectable suit of clothes for 
him. He was no doubt satisfied to leave the field of his 
labors to some one else. Be that as it may, the people, al- 
though giving evidence of the zeal and disinterestness — more 
especially the latter — with which they had been ministered 
to, were deprived of a resident pastor for a considerable time, 
as appears from a letter of Bishop Kenrick dated January 
14th, 1834. He says: "On my visit to Brownsville, a little 



238 ST. PETER'S CHURCH BURNED. 

village on the Monongahela River, I was much edified at the 
joy with which a French widow, residing m the neighbor- 
hood, came with her children to approach the sacraments, 
which she had been debarred from for years, m consequence 
of not meeting a priest who understood her language. The 
faithful of this mission are to be pitied, being able only four 
times a year to enjoy the presence of a priest, tne pastor of 
Blairsville, Rev. James Ambrose Stillenger, who visits them 
thus till I can place a pastor here." I remember hearing Fr. 
Stillenger speak in his entertaining way of his travels and 
adventures on this mission. He visited the place for two 
years, till in the latter part of 1836 it w^as attended monthly 
from Pittsburg by Rev. Patrick Waters. 

I have not been able to learn the date of the building of 
the first church, but from the words of Bishop Kenrick it 
must have been before his visit, as he speaks of a cnurch 
without making mention of its erection or dedication. The 
circumstances of its erection, whatever time it took place, were 
these : Neal Gillespie donated three acres of ground in a 
very desirable place in the town as a site for the building. 
This gentleman was grandfather of the politician James 
Gillespie Blaine. Two Protestant gentlemen, J. J. Workman 
and E. L. Blaine, father of the above-named, undertook to 
erect the church, travelling for the purpose of raising the 
necessary funds as far as Baltimore. Both became converts, 
and after the destruction of the church by fire were interred 
in the spot upon which the altar had stood. 

In the summer of 1837 Rev. Michael Gallagher was ap- 
pointed pastor, with the additional care of all the Cathohcs 
in Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties. In April, 
1839, the congregation sustained a heavy loss in the burning 
of the church, and during the time that elapsed before the 
erection of the new one the people accommodated them- 
selves as best they could in a private house. The congrega- 
tion was at this time at the zenith of its prosperity and 
numerical strength. Too sanguine of the future, Fr. Gal- 
lagher commenced the building of a splendid edifice in 1842. 
For this purpose he collected in different parts of the country, 
and happily left the church at its completion free from debt. 



MISSIONS. 



239 



It was solemnly consecrated by Bishop O'Connor April 7th, 
1844. It is built of cut stone throughout, is 125 feet in 
length by 50 in width, and has a tower in the centre in front 
120 feet high. The floor is paved with stone, and the altar 
was of the same material, but because of the dampness was 
soon replaced by one of wood. Had the congregation con- 
tinued to increase and been able to keep the church in the 
order which such a building requires, it would be the most 
elegant as it is the most substantial church in the diocese. 
But the congregation began to decline soon after its comple- 
tion. About the same time Fr. Gallagher withdrew, and was 
replaced by so long a list of successors — for the church has 
always had a resident pastor — that it is impossible to give the 
names of all. The present incumbent is Rev. H. P. Connery. 
The Pennsylvania Canal on the north and the Potomac Canal 
on the south drew the travel and traflic from Brownsville, 
and it immediately began to decline rapidly in importance. 
A pastoral residence was purchased many years ago, but the 
congregation has never enjoyed the inestimable advantage of 
a parish school. 

The congregation numbers at present no more than twenty- 
five families, and Mass is offered up on two Sundays in the 
month. What the future prospects are it is difficult to con- 
jecture ; certain it is they are not flattering. Should the Pitts- 
burg, Virginia and Charleston Railroad, now completed 
to Monongahela City, be extended to Brownsville, as it prob- 
ably soon will be, it will doubtless increase the trade and with 
it the population of the town. 

Of the numerous missions formerly attended from Browns- 
ville, Waynesburg, Uniontown, and Farmington alone re- 
main. But besides these the pastor pays an occasional visit 
to certain small bodies of miners living at different places 
along the river. 



240 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, UNIONTOWN. 



ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, UNIONTOWN. 

Uniontown, the county-seat of Fayette County, is situated 
near the foot of the western slope of the Chestnut Ridge, 
about twelve miles south-east of Brownsville. The town 
was laid ont by Henry Beeson, a Quaker from Berkeley 
County, Va., about the year 1767 or '69.* It had in 1870 a 
population of 2503. But the history of the place and of the 
surrounding country begins from a period prior to the foun- 
dation of the town. The route by which General Braddock 
crossed from Cumberland to Fort Du Quesne in the early 
part of the summer of 1755 lay but a short distance north of 
where the town now stands. This route was, as we have 
seen, one of the paths by which emigrants penetrated to the 
West, and so favorably was it known that the Southern Pike, 
when laid out, followed closely the footsteps of the unfor- 
tunate Briton. Passing on its way through Uniontown, it 
added to the traffic and importance of the place. 

Nothing is known with certainty of the early Catholic 
settlement of Uniontown, but it is probable that a few scat- 
tered families were found in the town and in its vicinity very 
early in the present century ; for Dr. Gallitzin and Father 
Heilbron both visited the place before the arrival of Father 
O'Brien at Brownsville — that is, prior to the year 1806. Since 
that town became a missionary centre Uniontown has always, 
with but little exception, been attached to it. Passing over the 
first half of the present century, during which time the visits 
of a priest were more or less frequent, according to the ex- 
tent of the field of his missionary labors, but never more than 
once in the month, we come to the year 1849. Mass was at 
that time celebrated once in the month on Sunday by Rev. 
Thos. M'Gowen, then pastor of Brownsville, and the number 
of Catholics, though small, was still such that it was deemed 
expedient to build a church for their better accommodation. 
Suitable lots were purchased, and in the following year the 
church was undertaken. It was not finished until the close 
of the year after, at which time Rev. John Larkin, at present 

* Historical Collections, p. 340. 



FARMINGTON STATION. 



241 



of Holy Innocents' Churchy New York City, was pastor. It 
was dedicated, under the invocation of St. John the Evangel- 
ist, by Rev. Father Krutil, C.SS.R., December 7th, 185 1. 
The church is an unassuming- brick structure without a 
steeple, and is about 50 feet in length by 25 in width, has one 
altar, and is finished in a simple and inexpensive style in the 
interior. The affairs of the congregation remained unchanged, 
except that it was soon deprived of the advantages of a resi- 
dent pastor until February 5th, 1863, when the church was 
blown down, or at least seriously damaged, by a storm. It 
was rebuilt without alteration, and again the little congrega- 
tion pursued the even tenor of its way. 

At length the condition of the congregation was improved, 
but hardly for its own sake, as may be inferred from what 
follows. About the end of September, 1877, Rev. Ed. Bren- 
nan was appointed resident pastor, with the care also of 
Farmington and LeMont Furnace. But after remaining 
until May of the following year he was transferred to another 
field of usefulness, and the congregation reverted to the pas- 
tor of Brownsville. It will not exceed twenty-five families 
in number, and may even fall below that figure, and never 
was it greater than at present. Being beyond the influences 
that ordinarily tend to increase the CathoKc population, it is 
probable that it will undergo little if any change for many 
years to come. 

FARMINGTON STATION. 

The village of Farmington is situated on the national turn- 
pike in a mountainous region twelve miles east of Uniontown. 
The scenery between the two places is grand beyond descrip- 
tion. Soon after leaving the latter place the traveller ascends 
the Chestnut Ridge by a tortuous route, and having reached 
the summit at the distance of six miles there is presented on 
the west and north-west a prospect extending to a distance of 
more than forty miles. Little Washington, though thirty-five 
miles off, is seen distmctly with the aid of a glass. On the 
top of the ridge are Fayette Springs. It was near this spot 
that Major Washington built Fort Necessity immediately 



242 GEN. BRADDOCK'S GRAVE. 

after the retreat of General Braddock. Passing three miles 
further east, one comes to the historic spot where reposes all 
that is mortal of the brave but imprudent General Braddock 
— a place which was known in the annals of Indian warfare as 
the Great Meadows. Here the general was laid to rest July 
13th, 1755. He was first buried in the route which bore his 
name, to prevent the French or Indians from discovering the 
spot, but about the beginning of the present century his re- 
mains were removed to a spot about one hundred yards north 
of the road. It is surrounded by about half a dozen other 
graves and as many small trees, dating from the beginning of 
the century. The grave is marked by a flagstone without any 
inscription, and the Avild-cherry-tree that stood at the head of 
it is long dead, and will soon cease to point out the spot where 
our hero was buried."^ 

The few Catholics in and around the village of Farming- 

*The death of Gen. Braddock being the first important event of the war between 
the French and English, of which the territory included in this history was the 
scene, it may not be uninteresting to give the following account of it from Day's 
" Historical Collections" (p. 335), and the more so as I do not find it stated any- 
where else : 

"There had long existed a tradition in this region that Braddock was 
killed by one of his own men, and more recent developments leave little or no 
doubt of the fact. A recent writer in the National Intelligencer, whose authority 
is good on such points, says: 'When my father was moving with his family to 
the west, one of the Fausetts kept a public house to the eastward from and 
near where Uniontown now stands. This man's house we lodged in about the 
loth of October, 1781, twenty-six years and a few months after Braddock's defeat, 
and there it was made anything but a secret that one of the family dealt the death- 
blow to the British general. Thirteen years afterwards I met Thos. Fausett in 
Fayette County, and then, as he told me, in his seventieth year. To him I put 
the plain question and received the plain reply, " / did shoot him.'' He then went 
on to insist that, by doing so, he contributed to save what was left of the army. 
In brief, in my youth I never heard the fact either doubted or blamed that Fausett 
shot Braddock.' 

" In spite of Braddock's silly order that the troops should not protect them- 
selves behind the trees, Joseph Fausett had taken such a position, when Braddock 
rode by in a passion and struck him down with his sword. Tom Fausett, who 
was but a short distance from his brother, saw the whole transaction and imme- 
diately drew up his rifle and shot Braddock through the lungs, partly in revenge 
for the outrage upon his brother and partly, as he always alleged, to get the 
general out of the way and thus save the remainder of the gallant band who had 
been sacrificed to his obstmacy and want of experience in frontier warfare." 



CON NELL S VILLE. 



243 



ton settled there most probably at the time the road was 
made. They are all farmers, and number no more than about 
fifteen families. The place has always been attached to 
Uniontown and attended at irregular intervals, but never 
more as a rule than once in the month on a week-day. No 
church has yet been built, nor is one likely soon to be, and 
there is every prospect that the future history of the place 
will be as monotonous as the past has been. 

CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, CONNELLSVILLE, 

Connellsville is situated on the northern bank of the 
Yohioghenny River, fifty-eight miles south-east of Pittsburg, 
and took its name from Zachariah Connell, who laid out the 
town about the year 1790. It was incorporated as a borough 
in 1806, and had in 1870 a population of 1292. New Haven, 
on the opposite side of the river, was laid out in 1796 by Col. 
Isaac Meason, and had in 1870 a population of 333. "^^ The site 
of Connellsville was known in frontier history as Stewart's 
Crossing. 

Although an old town, it did not attain to any importance- 
until the completion of the Pittsburg and Connellsville Rail- 
road, now known as the Pittsburg branch of the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad, in 1862. The opening of this road gave 
an outlet to the coke trade, of which this is the centre and 
for which it has a world-wide reputation,f and in doing so 
increased the population and the importance of the town. 

From an early day Catholic settlers found their way to 
this part of the country, and for more than a quarter of a 
century Mass was celebrated in the town or near it, at distant 
intervals, and generally on a week-day. At length the number 
of Catholics had sufficiently increased to render the building 
of a church and the appointment of a resident pastor neces- 

* Day's Historical Collections, p. 344. 

f There were in the immediate vicinity of Connellsville, according to an ac- 
count drawn up in the autumn of 1879, nearly 4000 coke-ovens in full blast, yield- 
ing 250,000 bushels or 400 car-loads per day and giving steady employment to 
more than 2000 men, as miners, coke-drawers, and laborers, and the trade is daily 
increasing. 



244 CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 

sary. In 1870 Rev. Robt. Waters, of Brownsville, began to 
visit it monthly on a Sunday. In the beginning of the follow 
ing year he was transferred thither, and, after having offered 
up the Holy Sacrifice for a short time in a house, he pur- 
chased, or had purchased for him, an old Methodist Episcopal 
church in January, 1871. The building, which is of rough 
stone, is 66 feet in length by 38 in width, without a steeple, 
and is an interesting relic of the past. It was built, as tra- 
dition informs us, before the close of the last century, and 
having been used for many years by the congregation, 
was sold, and by a somewhat unusual transformation became 
a foundry. Again it was abandoned till it was purchased for 
a church. After the interior had undergone the necessary 
alteration, it was dedicated, under the title of the Immaculate 
Conception, by the Bishop July 9th, 1871. 

Fr. Waters next purchased a large lot adjoining the church, 
upon which he built a frame residence in the summer of 1872. 
In the same year he opened a school, which was continued in 
a temporary frame building until June, 1878, when it was 
closed for the present, owing to the stringency of the times. 

The congregation has not increased since the outbreak of 
the panic, but it still counts about one hundred families, con- 
sisting principally of Irishmen and Americans. 

Besides ministering to the congregation Father Waters 
also visits a number of places on the line of the railroad, the 
principal of which are Jamestown, four miles below Connells- 
ville, where he says Mass on one Sunday in the month ; In- 
dian Creek, seven, and Ohio Pyle Falls, sixteen miles above, 
each of which he visits monthly on a week-day. 

The condition of the congregation and its dependencies 
must gradually improve in the future. 

ST. ALOYSIUS' CHURCH, DUNBAR. 

The village of Dunbar is on the creek of the same name, 
on the Fayette County branch of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, and on the South-western Railroad, four miles south 
of Connellsville. It derives its name from Col. Thos. Dun- 
bar, who was second in command of Braddock's expedition. 



ST, ALOYSIUS' CHURCH, DUNBAR, 



245 



About three miles east of the village, on the Chestnut Ridge, 
is the spot where the defeated forces first halted to rest in 
their retreat ; and the spot is yet known as '' Dunbar's Camp." 

The congregation of St. Aloysius' and the village also owe 
their origin to the presence of a blast-furnace built there a few 
years ago, which naturally drew a number of laborers to the 
place, the greater part of whom were Irish Catholics. Mining 
and coke-burning have since added to their number. Mass 
was first celebrated by Father Waters in March, 1869, and 
from that time forward he visited the place once in the month 
on a week-day. In 1873, when the congregation had increased 
considerably, he began to visit it once in the month on Sunday. 
But the distance from Connellsville did not prevent the better 
disposed among the people from going there to Mass occa- 
sionally. 

After the retirement of Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald from 
Meyersdale on account of failing health. Rev. Philip Brady 
was appointed pastor of that place in the beginning of 1874, 
with the additional obligation of visiting Dunbar on every 
alternate Sunday. As yet there was no church. But early 
in the summer of the same year, the size of the congregation, 
which now numbered about forty-five families with every 
prospect of an increase in the future, made the building of a 
church both necessary and feasible. A site was purchased 
which, although not the most eligible that could have been 
found, is still good, and work was commenced. The corner- 
stone was laid by the Bishop June 21st. The church was 
finished the following summer and was dedicated by the same 
prelate July 25th, under the invocation of St. Aloysius Gon- 
zaga. It is a brick building 75 feet in length by 35 in width, 
but without a steeple, and is very neat and substantial both 
in its external and internal appearance and finish. The grow- 
ing importance of the place induced Father Brady to transfer 
his residence thither in October, where he has since lived. 
He continued to visit Meyersdale until September, 1876, and 
has also had care of Le Mont Furnace from the time it became 
a missionary station, as we shall presently see. 

A school-house was built, and a school was opened by a 
lay teacher in the summer of 1878. 



246 . LE MONT MISSION. 

The congregation has now increased to about one hundred 
and twenty famihes. Its future prospects are also flattering. 
Should additional iron manufactories be built, which is very 
probable, and for which there is every encouragement, the 
Catholic population of this part of the county must be aug- 
mented. 

LE MONT FURNACE MISSION. 

This mission is on the line of the railroads that connect 
Connellsville with Uniontown, and is four miles north of the 
latter. A blast-furnace was built here in 1876, which with a 
small trade in coke soon drew a httle congregation of Catho- 
lics, Irishmen for the most part, to the place. This nation- 
ality, it would appear, is destined in the dispensations of 
Providence to lay the foundations of the Church nearly 
everywhere in the land. Father Brady, of Dunbar, began 
immediately to visit the place on two Sundays in the month, 
riding from St. Aloysius' Church between the two Masses, 
which he celebrated on the same day. This arrangement has 
since continued, with the exception of the few months from 
September, 1877, until May of the following yeai-, when a 
priest resided at Uniontown. During that time Le Mont 
was, as we have seen, under the care of that missionary, but 
the congregation was visited in the same manner as it had 
been before. No church has yet been built ; but the erection 
of one cannot long be deferred, as the congregation already 
numbers perhaps sixty families. The Catholic population 
must in the nature of things continue to increase, and it seems 
probable that at no distant day there will be a resident pastor, 
to whom will also be entrusted the Catholics of Uniontown 
and Farmington. The prospects of the future growth of re- 
Hgion in the whole northern part of Fayette are as flattering 
as they are in any other part of the entire diocese. 

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, SCOTTDALE. 

Everson, or Fountain Mills as it was formerly called, is a 
little village six miles north of Connellsville, on the boundary Hne 



ST. JOHN S CHURCH, SCOT TD ALE. 247 

between Fayette and Westmoreland counties, and on the line of 
the South-western Railroad at the point where it is crossed by 
the Mount Pleasant branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road. But since the incorporation of Scottdale as a borough, 
which lies immediately across the line in Westmoreland 
County, the place is better known by that name. The town 
owes its importance to the presence of a rolling-mill and a 
blast-furnace lately built there. Prior to that time a small 
amount of mining was carried on, in which, among others, a 
few Catholics were engaged. From about the year 1874 
Mass was celebrated in a private house by the pastor of Con- 
nellsville, once in the month. When the iron-works at length 
brought a larger number of Catholics together more frequent 
ministrations became necessary. To supply the wants of the 
people Father Waters purchased a little frame Episcopal 
church, 20 by 40 feet, that was offered for sale, and blessed it 
as a church April 23d, 1876. An assistant was then assigned 
to him, and Mass was celebrated in the new church every 
Sunday. Scottdale was erected into an independent parish 
in the beginning of the summer of 1878, and Rev. Thos. 
M'Enrue, assistant at Connellsville, was appointed resident 
pastor. As yet there is neither school nor pastoral residence. 
The congregation consists of about a hundred and twenty-five 
families, with very flattering prospects for the future. 

Father M'Enrue was succeeded by Rev. M. A. Lambing, 
brother of the writer, early in July, 1879. 

But the church is too small for the congregation. To 
remedy the evil Fr. Lambing commenced, in the fall of 1879, 
to build a frame church, 71 by 37 feet. 

The pastor of this church also says Mass on one Sunday 
in the month at Bridgeport, on the Bradford and Mount 
Pleasant Railroad, four miles east of Scottdale. There are be- 
sides this place one or two other stations where Mass is cele- 
brated once a month on a week-day. Scottdale is perhaps the 
most promising place in Fayette County ; and it is not im- 
probable that the congregation will double its numbers before 
the end of two years. 



248 NE W BAL TIMORE. 



ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, NEW BALTIMORE, SOMER- 
SET COUNTY. 

The success of Dr. Gallitzin in planting a Catholic colony 
at Loretto induced Rev. Thos. Heyden, of Bedford, to make 
a similar experiment. A Mr. Ridelmoser, a wealthy German 
Catholic of Baltimore, owned large tracts of land at a place 
known as Harman's Bottom, in Somerset County, on the 
eastern side of the Allegheny Mountains, about twenty-two 
miles west of Bedford. Here it was that Father He3^den 
hoped to realize his plans of an exclusively Catholic colony. 
In 1832 he proposed to Mr. Ridelmoser to draw Catholic 
settlers to his lands on condition that a church should be 
built and the land reserved exclusively for Catholics. That 
gentleman entered heartily into his plans, built a stone church, 
about fifty feet in length by thirty-five in width, in a simple 
style, and a pastoral residence, and donated 100 acres of land 
to the church for the support of the pastor. The church, 
which he furnished with vestments and plate, was dedicated, 
under the invocation of St. John the Baptist, January ist, 1836. 
He named the place New Baltimore, but it is yet generally 
known by the name of Harman's Bottom. Besides this he 
donated 600 acres of land for the support of a Cathohc school, 
and placed the management of it in the hands of three mem- 
bers of the congregation to be elected at the times and in the 
manner prescribed by him. It was his intention, as also that 
of Father Heyden, to make the new settlement a seat of learn- 
ing as well as of piety. No sooner were the foundations of 
the settlement laid than plans were formed, as we learn from 
an article in the Bedford Gazette, for the erection of a Catholic 
university. The size and style of the buildings were specified, 
and expectations were excited that were never to be realized. 
Lying, as the land does, between the Northern and Southern 
turnpikes, the two great thoroughfares from the east to the 
west, it was thought to possess every advantage. But the 
Pennsylvania Canal lately opened drew all travel from these 
roads and left New Baltimore, as we shall see, with little hope 



ST. JOHN THE BAPTISTS CHURCH. 249 

of future greatness. But before condemning the projectors 
of the unive^-sity for being too sanguine, we should note the 
changes that we ourselves sometimes see pass over certain 
localities in a single decade of years. 

Upon the completion of the church there were about one 
hundred and fifty families, and at present there are no more. 
The school was not opened, and the land reserved for its sup- 
port has been always rented out for the benefit of the pastor. 
But owing to the absence of minerals and the want of ready 
communication with the outer world, it is not so valuable as 
might be imagined. From the time of its completion until 
the appointment of a resident pastor, in 1854, the church was 
generally visited on one Sunday in the month by Father 
Heyden. During this time there was little change in the 
congregation from the fact that those who lived there owned 
land and cared not to leave it, while to persons from without 
it offered no inducements to settle. 

In 1854 Rev. Richard Brown was appointed resident 
pastor and assigned one or two missions in connection with 
the congregation. Having remained until 1859, ^^ was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. J. N. Tamchina, who after a brief space 
gave place to Rev. Patrick Brown. After a few years he 
was succeeded by Rev. Robt. B3^rne, who exercised the 
pastoral duties for about two years. At length, in 1870, the 
Carmelite fathers were placed in charge of the congregation, 
and so it remains. They enlarged the church by the addition 
of about thirty feet to its length, and thus improved it was 
dedicated by the Bishop August 3d, 1871. Two years later 
they built a brick pastoral residence. 

A school was opened in the old residence in the spring of 
1877, but after a short time it was temporarily closed. It 
is the intention of the pastor to have it opened permanently 
as soon as possible. 

The congregation numbers at present about one hundred 
and fifty families, all of whom speak English with the excep- 
tion of perhaps a dozen of the original German settlers. Its 
future has every prospect of being as monotonous as the past 
has been. 



250 ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, MEYERSDAL.Z. 

ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, MEYERS DALE. 

Meyersdale is a village situated on the westevn slope of the 
main ridge of the Allegheny Mountains near their summit, and 
on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, one hundred 
and twelve miles south-east of Pittsburg. The most note- 
worth}^ event in the history of the town was the difficulty it 
experienced in hitting upon a name. In the days of its mi- 
nority it was known as Meyers' Mills ; but in time it aspired 
to the title of Dale City. A lively discussion arose between 
the old and the new school which was happily adjusted by 
the present euphonious compromise. 

A few German Catholic families located themselves in the 
town and surrounding country more than thirty years ago, 
and were visited at distant and irregular intervals either by 
the pastor of Bedford or by the Redemptorist fathers from^ 
Cumberland, Md. The church was undertaken about the 
year 1850, and when finished two years later by Rev. Joseph 
Gezowski, then pastor, was dedicated, most probably by Father 
Heyden, under the invocation of the Apostle St. Matthew, 
May 2d, 1852. It is a very small frame building with a little 
belfry. The congregation consisted at that time of eighteen 
families. Soon Father Gezowski was transferred to another 
field of labor, and the congregation was visited, generally on 
one Sunday in the month, from New Baltimore. This ar- 
rangement appears to have continued until about the year 
1868, when Rev. Patrick Brown was transferred from New 
Baltimore to Meyersdale, Avith the care of the missions also 
that belong to it. During all this time the congregation had 
undergone no perceptible change, except that the (jermans 
had become somewhat Anglicized and a fcAv families had been 
added to the original number. At the close of the year 1872 
Father Brown was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald, 
who in the course of the following summer built a frame pas- 
toral residence at a considerable distance from the church. 
Failing health obliged him to withdraw from the congrega- 
tion in the middle of December, and he retired to the home 
of his parents in Pittsburg, where he died of consumption 
April 2ist, 1874, at the age of 26 years. 



DEATH OF REV. THOMAS FITZGERALD. 251 

Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald was born of Irish parents in the 
cathedral parish, Pittsburg, and at an early ag-e showed signs 
of a vocation to the sacred ministry. He entered St. Michael's 
Seminary March 3d, 1863, and eagerly prosecuted the course 
of studies necessary to fit him for the priesthood. This done, 
he was ordained December 20th, 1871. Shortly after he was 
sent to Altoona as assistant to Father Tuigg. A few months 
later he was appointed pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Sugar 
Creek. A field of labor was here opened to his zeal that was 
far from encouraging. The church, with all it contained, had 
but lately been burned to the ground, and the congregation 
was forced to retire to the old log church that had not been 
used for thirty years. He entered upon his labors with an 
energy that proved at times too great for the strength of his 
naturally feeble body, and until the close of the year 1872 
toiled with unabated zeal for the spiritual and temporal wel- 
fare of perhaps the most discouraging parish in the diocese. 
From there he was taken to Meyersdale, as has been already 
stated. His remains repose in St. Mary's Cemetery, Pittsburg. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Philip Brady, who divided his 
attention between St. Matthew's congregation and that at 
Dunbar. Having ministered to both until September, 1876, 
he took up his residence at the latter place, and Rev. R. 
Brown, the present pastor, was appointed to Meyersdale. 
The congregation does not exceed twenty-five families, and 
there are no hopes of increase in the immediate future. 

The pastor of St. Matthew's has charge of about half a 
dozen stations on the line of the railroad in both directions 
from MeyersdalCj nearly all of which are visited once in the 
month on a week-day. But in none of them are there more 
than a very few families, principally railroad men. Ursina — 
sometimes known as Brook's Tunnel — twenty miles west of 
Meyersdale, is the principal station. Here Mass is celebrated 
in a school-house on one Sunday in the month. 

Sand Patch, five miles east of Meyersdale, at the summit 
of the mountain, was during the construction of the railroad 
an important mission, owing to the large number of hands 
employed in the tunnel opened through the mountain at that 
point. A temporary frame church 60 feet by 30 was built for 



25' 



WELLSBURG. 



their accommodation about the year 1857 and dedicated to 
St. Patrick. But when the tunnel was completed, a few 
years later, the laborers withdrew and the church, being no 
longer needed, was torn down. It is now an unimportant 
station. 

Wellsburg, across the mountain to the south-east of 
Meyersdale and near the State line, has had a small number of 
Catholics for perhaps twenty -five years. No church has ever 
been erected for their accommodation, and the place has never 
been more than a monthly station, attended sometimes from 
New Baltimore, but generally from Maryland. For many 
years it has been under the care of the pastor of Mount 
Savage, Md., from which place it is but a few miles distant. 
Its condition is destined to undergo but little change. 



CHAPTER XV. 

BEDFORD AND HUNTINGDON COUNTIES. 

General remarks on the early Catholic settlements — Bedford, St. Thomas' 
Church — Death and sketch of Very Rev. Thomas Heyden — St. John's 
Church, Clearville — St. Mary's Church, Shade Valley — Huntingdon — Early 
Catholic settlement — Holy Trinity Church — Death and sketch of Rev. P. B. 
Halloran — Mount Union — Church of the Immaculate Conception, Broad 
Top. 

The tract of country that is now to claim our attention was 
settled at a very early date in our history, from the fact that 
it lay in the route west from both Philadelphia and Baltimore. 
For the same reason it early possessed a number of small 
Catholic settlements. But notwithstanding this, it has never 
been a fruitful field for religion, and if we except the congre- 
gation at Broad Top, which is of recent growth, the Catholic 
population has not more than doubled itself in seventy years. 
The difficulty of visiting and ministering to the pioneers, 
and the more rapid increase of the population of other places, 
which rendered it necessary to leave a very wide field here in 
later times for one priest to visit, the stations of which could 
only be visited at distant intervals, prevented religion from 
exercising that influence over the minds of the people, but 
more especially of the young, which was necessary to prevent 
them from being led astray by the temptations to which they 
were exposed. Hence there is no place in the two dioceses 
in which so large a number has fallen from the faith, and no 
place where the evil effects of mixed marriages are more 
plainly seen. What the future is destined to bring with it 
cannot be conjectured in a country like ours, where changes 
are so frequent and unexpected ; but from present indications 
it offers a prospect by no means flattering. 



254 BEDFORD. 



ST. THOMAS' CHURCH, BEDFORD. 

Bedford, the seat of justice of the county of the same name, 
is on the Philadelphia and Pittsburg turnpike, 200 miles from 
the former and 100 from the latter place. It is situated in a 
luxuriant limestone valley, and enjoys every advantage that 
pure mountain air and water and picturesque scenery can im- 
part. By order of the governor of the colony the town was 
laid out in June, 1766, by the surveyor-general, John Lukens. 
The settlement had originally been called Raystown, but from 
the time of laying it out it was called by its present name.'^ 

The population in 1870 was 1247. The growth of the 
town, it will be seen, has been very moderate, owing to the 
want of ready communication with other places and the ab- 
sence of minerals, upon which, as is well known, the pros- 
perity and in a great measure the increase of the Catholic 
population in Western Pennsylvania depend. But it has been 
long famous for its mineral springs, and has for many years 
been a summer resort. Within a few years the Huntingdon 
and Broad Top Railroad has been extended through Bedford 
to Cumberland, Md., which increased the facilities for com- 
munication, but did not materially benefit the town. 

Being on the route from Maryland to the west, along which 
many of the pioneer Catholics passed, a small number of fam- 
ilies settled there, making it the second Catholic settlement in 
the tAvo dioceses. Doctor Gallitzin visited it soon after his 
arrival at Loretto, and very probably before it, inasmuch as 
it lay on the route from Taneytown, where he was stationed, to 
the colony which he established on the mountains. The Holy 
Sacrifice was offered up in a private house — most probably 
that of Mr. Heyden, a merchant of the place — until a church 
was built. This church was erected, as Father Bradly in- 
forms me, during the time Dr. Gallitzin continued to visit the 
town ; that is, prior to the year 1820. But the exact date can- 
not be ascertained with certainty. It is needless to state that 
the visits of a priest were necessarily made at distant inter- 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 11 5-122. 



ST. THOMAS' CHURCH, BEDFORD 255 

vals. In 1806 a Rev. Mr. Phelan was for a time at Bedford 
contrary to the wishes of Dr. GalUtzin, as may be learned from 
a letter of his to Bishop Carroll dated December 19th of that 
year. 

Thomas Heyden, son of the merchant of Bedford, was 
destined to become the most prominent figure in the congre- 
gation's history. Having completed his studies at Mt. St. 
Mary's College, Maryland, he was ordained to the sacred 
ministry by a dispensation before he had attained the canoni- 
cal age. May 2ist, 1821. For a short time he was stationed 
at St. Joseph's Church, Philadelphia, after which it appears 
— for the biographical notices of him differ — he was sent to 
minister to the congregation of Bedford. In October, 1826, 
he was appointed assistant at St. Mary's Church, Philadel- 
phia, of which he soon after became pastor. The length of 
time he remained cannot now be determined, but it must have 
been short. Again we find him at his native town, but it is 
said that he returned to St. Mary's for a short time in 1835. 
His firmness, moderation, and tact admirably adapted him to 
the management of difficult undertakings ; and the care of St. 
Mary's congregation in those days is admitted on all hands to 
have been pre-eminently such. Returning to Bedford he re- 
mained until April ist, 1837, when iie was appointed pastor 
of St. Paul's Church, Pittsburg, a position which he filled 
until the 22d of November of the same year, when the bish- 
opric of Natchez, Miss., was offered to him. He declined the 
proffered dignity, which was the highest tribute that could 
have been paid to his zeal and administrative ability, and once 
more betook himself to his native town. Again he was called 
to Pittsburg, May, 1843, when Very Rev. M. O'Connor set 
out for PvOme. Upon the return of that prelate as Bishop of 
the new See of Pittsburg, Fr. Heyden came back to Bedford, 
never again to leave it until called to his final rest. 

He replaced the old church by another, the time of which 
is uncertain ; but he lived in a house which he had inherited, 
and had no occasion to build a pastoral residence. As the 
Catholic population increased and priests became more 
numerous new missionary centres were formed, and the 
sphere of his labors was gradually narrowed down to Bed- 



256 DEATH OF VERY REV. THOS. HE YD EN. 

ford and New Baltimore, which latter place he visited on one 
Sunday in the month till a resident pastor was appointed in 
1854, as has been elsewhere stated. From this time there re- 
mained to him only Bedford and Clearville, yet to be noticed. 
When Bishop O'Connor visited the congregation in 1847, 
there were, as I learn from his Notes, 250 souls ; a fact which 
proves the extremely moderate growth of the Catholic popu- 
lation. Gradual, however, as was the growth of the congre- 
gation, it was found necessary to replace the old church by a 
larger one, and the present edifice was undertaken. The 
corner-stone was laid by the Bishop October 22d, 1868, and 
the basement was dedicated by the same prelate July i8th of 
the following year. In this condition it remained for several 
years, until it was finished by the present pastor. It is of 
brick, 75 feet in length by 40 in width, neatly but not elegantly 
finished in the interior, and has a steeple rising from the 
centre in front. 

But the career of Father Hej'dcn was run, and the time 
had come for him to enter into the joy of his Lord. Naturally 
of a robust constitution, he gave little indication of his coming 
dissolution. He performed the usual routine duties of the 
Sunday, and preached with his wonted vigor and eloquence 
August 23d, 1870, but was almost immediately prostrated by 
sickness. The malady increased in an alarming manner, and, 
strengthened by the sacred rites which he had so often ad- 
ministered to others, he expired at five o'clock on Tuesday 
morning, August 25th, at the age of 72. 

Rev. Thomas Heyden was born in county Carlow, Ire- 
land, in 1798. His parents emigrated to this country in his 
infancy and settled at Bedford, where he spent his childhood 
and youth until he entered Mt, St. Mary's College. His sub- 
sequent career is before the reader. He was somewhat above 
the medium height, of a gentle but dignified and commanding 
appearance, and very measured and deliberate in his motions 
and in the expression of his opinions. He was a diligent 
student during his whole life, a profound scholar, an able 
administrator of the affairs of the Church, and one of the most 
eloquent and impressive preachers of this country. But he 
loved retirement and seclusion, and seldom appeared outside 



ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLEAR VILLE. 257 

the limits of his parish, unless duty or the earnest request of 
a fellow-priest called him to assist at some of the more solemn 
functions of the Church. Although of a Hterary turn of mind, 
he has left but few writings after him. With the exception of 
a small number of printed lectures and sermons, there is 
nothing save a Life of his early and devoted friend, published 
in 1869, and entitled " A Memoir on the Life and Character of 
the Rev. Prince Demetrius A. de Gallitzin, Founder of Loretto 
and Catholicity, in Cambria County, Pa., Apostle of the 
Alleghenies." The work, although containing considerable 
information and a fair estimate of the character of the illus- 
trious subject, did not realize the expectations of the author's 
numerous friends. 

Father Heyden's remains repose in the cemetery at Bedford. 

He was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Andrew J. 
M. Brown, A.M., formerly president of St. Francis' College, 
Loretto. Since his appointment he finished the church, as 
has been stated, and built a brick pastoral residence. 

The growth of the congregation has been somewhat more 
encouraging in later than in former times, but it has no pros- 
pect of becoming large. It has never had the advantage of a 
parish school, from the fact of its being spread over a large 
tract of country. 

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH. CLEARVILLE. 

The only mission at present attached to Bedford is Clear- 
ville, about twelve miles to the south-east. Having visited 
the few CathoHc famihes in the village for a time. Father 
Heyden built a chapel for their better accommodation, the 
corner-stone of which was laid by him October loth, 1853. 
It was finished and dedicated at the end of about two years, 
and has since been visited once in the month on a week-day. 
Besides this there are no other missions in Bedford County, 
the whole Catholic population of which will not exceed three 
hundred souls. 



258 SHADE VALLEY. 

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, SHADE VALLEY, HUNTINGDON COUNTY. 

The congregation that I am now about to notice is, with 
two or three exceptions, the oldest in the diocese. Shade 
Valley lies between the Shade and Tuscarora mountains, two 
spurs of the Alleghenies, and is about twenty-five miles in a 
direct line south-east of Huntingdon. It lay on the route 
from Baltimore, Taneytown, and Conewago, to the western 
part of the State, which passed through the mountains at 
Shade Gap. The fertility of the soil, the strongest attraction 
for pioneers, induced a small number of emigrants to settle 
there between the years 1790 and 1800. The disturbances 
which then agitated the Westmoreland settlement, to which 
nearly all emigrants directed their steps at that early day, 
were not without influence on the minds of those who had 
been taught to look upon a disagreement between a pastor 
and his people as one of the greatest of evils. To the same 
lamentable cause is due in a measure the early settlements of 
Frankstown, Sinking Valley, and other places in Huntingdon 
and Blair counties. The settlement at Shade Valley was 
visited by Dr. Gallitzin from Taneytown in 1796. After 
locating himself at Loretto three years later, he w^as accus- 
tomed always to call at the settlement when on his way to 
Baltimore, and at such other times as his circumstances per- 
mitted. Besides these periodical but rare visits the people 
were sometimes favored with a call from the priest at Cone- 
wago. The tracing of their history prior to 1820 is attended 
with difficulties. Archbishop Hughes is said to have preached 
there when but a deacon, and the echo of his praise has not 
died out to the present day. When Rev. Thos. Heyden was 
stationed at Bedford in 1820 Shade Valley was embraced 
within the field of his missionary labors, and received 
a visit from him once in the month or once in two 
months. He continued to minister to the little flock until 
about the year 1850, although during that time it was occa- 
sionally visited by other priests. It was then for a time 
attended by one of the priests of the Philadelphia (now Har- 
risburg) diocese. But since 1853 it has formed apart of the 
Huntingdon mission. 



HUNTINGDON. 259 

A small stone church was built by Father Heyden about 
the year 1848. The congregation is now and has for many 
years been visited on one Sunday in the month, and it num- 
bers about thirty-five families, all farmers and native born. 
The number was as large perhaps fifty years ago. The 
absence of mineral resources and of railroad communication 
with other places makes it very probable that it will not in- 
crease for many years. 

HUNTINGDON. 

Huntingdon, the seat of justice of the county of the same 
name, is situated on the north bank of the Juniata River, just 
above the mouth of Standingstone Creek. The town is built 
upon an elevated bank sloping gently up from the river, and 
behind the town rising into a hill. It was laid out a short 
time previous to the Revolutionary war by Rev. Dr. W. Smith, 
Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. When in Eng- 
land soliciting funds for the university he found the Countess 
of Huntingdon a munificent donor, and in return for her 
liberality he gave her name to the town. Previous to that 
time the place had been noted as the site of an ancient Indian 
village called Standing Stone. A tall slim pillar of stone, 
four inches thick by eight inches wide, had been erected here 
by the resident tribe many 3^ears before, perhaps as a sort of 
Ebenezer, or " Stone of Help." ^' 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 368-370. 

The same author gives the following account of the superstitious veneration 
with which this stone was regarded : "A tradition is said to have existed among 
the Indians that if the stone should be taken away the tribe would be dispersed, 
but that so long as it should stand they would prosper. A hostile tribe once 
came up from the Tuscarora Valley and carried it off during the absence of the 
warriors ; but the latter fell upon them, recovered the stone, and replaced it. It 
is said that Dr. Barton, of Philadelphia, learned in some of his researches that 
Oneida meant standing stone ; and that nation, while living in New York, is said 
to have had a tradition that their ancestors came originally from the south. It is 
generally understood about Huntingdon that the original stone had been de- 
stroyed or taken away by the Indians, but that the whites erected a similar one, 
a part of which remains. It is certain that the whites removed it from its original 
position (at the east end near the river) to the centre of the town. When Mr. 
M'Murtrie came here in 1776-77 it was about eight feet high, and had on it the 



2 6o FIRST CATHOLIC SETTLERS. 

The scenery around Huntingdon is beautiful beyond de- 
scription, being mountainous and broken and generally 
wooded. To one who ascends the hill or mountain to the 
north of the town there is presented a prospect on the north, 
west, and south, extending in places to the distance of more 
than thirty miles over a broken mountainous country until 
the view is intercepted by the loftier summit of the main 
ridge of the Alleghenies. 

The growth of the town has been very moderate, and in 
1870 it had a population of but 3034. The increase since that 
time, however, has been considerable, and it will now proba- 
bly reach 5000 souls. 

Catholics were among the first settlers in the town and 
surrounding country, and there is no part of the two dioceses 
in which so many have been lost to the faith by intermarriage 
and apostasy. Dr. Gallitzin visited the place as early as the 
year 1796, and from that time forward continued to do so 
until Father Heyden was stationed at Bedford, who then re- 
lieved him of all the missions on the eastern side of the 
mountains. It was a preacher of this town, a Rev. Mr. 
Johnson, who by his violent attacks on the Church gave oc- 
casion to Dr. Gallitzin to publish his world-renowned 
" Defence of Catholic Principles," etc., as we shall see more 
fully hereafter. The laborers who were employed on the 
northern turnpike, some of whom settling in and near the 
town after the completion of the work, increased the Catholic 
population. Rev. John O'Reilly, who was ordained in 1826, 
relieved Fr. Heyden of the northern portion of his extensive 
district, and resided for a time at Huntingdon. Immediately 
after his arrival work was commenced on the canal, and there 
being a large number of Irish Catholics among the laborers, 
he determined to build a church for his increasing flock. 
The dedication was performed July 4th, 1830, by Bishop 
Conwell, assisted by his coadjutor. Bishop Kenrick. But it 

names of John Lukens, the surveyor-general, with the date of 1768 ; Charles 
Lukens, his assistant ; and Thomas Smith, brother of the founder of the town 
and afterwards judge of the Supreme Court. It stood there for many years until 
some fool in a drunken frolic demolished it. It is evidently a stone from the bed 
of the creek, bearing marks of being worn by water." (p. 370.) 



CHANGES OF PASTORS. 261 

had then been finished for a considerable time. Speaking of 
the church and its dedication, a correspondent of the United 
States Catholic Miscellany says : '' The church, which was 
commenced towards the end of September, 1828, under the 
care of Rev. John O'Reilly, is of brick, solid and substantial, 
62 by 35 feet, including a sanctuary, which is built in the form 
of an offset with a small vestry-room on the left, which is also 
used as a confessional. It has a front gallery, supported by 
four columns, which together with the nave numbers 57 pews. 
The height of the ceiling from the floor is 25 feet. The whole 
is tastefully executed, for the most part, according to the 
Gothic style of architecture. . . . It is but just to remark 
that this church, as well as many others recently erected, has 
been raised principally by the generosity of poor Irishmen 
working on the canal." 

Father O'Reilly remained until the autumn of 1831, and 
built churches in Bellefonte and Newry. He was then trans- 
ferred to Pittsburg, where he became the assistant and after- 
wards the successor of Fr. M'Guire. Huntingdon was then 
visited for a short time by Rev. Jas. Bradley, then as now 
pastor of the church at Newry. In 1834 Rev. Patrick Leavy 
resided for a time in the town, attending I't and the surround- 
ing missions. After the erection of the church Mass was 
usually celebrated on one Sunday in the month. In 1837 
Father Bradley again visited it; and in 1844 it was under the 
care of Rev. Patrick Pendergast, of Bellefonte. Soon 
after it was attached to the new mission of Hollidaysburg. 
When Bishop O'Connor visited the congregation in 
1847, there were, according to his Notes, 130 souls. When 
the Pennsylvania Railroad was opened, about the year 185 1, 
Huntingdon became, and has since remained, an independent 
mission, embracing the entire county. From that time Mass 
was celebrated twice in the month until the Broad Top con- 
gregation was detached from it in 1863, since which time 
Mass is offered up on all the Sundays but the one given to 
Shade Valley. The first resident pastor was Rev. Peter M. 
Doyle, who remained until the breaking out of the Rebellion, 
when he was succeeded by Rev. Peter Hughes. But in the 
beginning of the year 1863 the growing importance of Broad 



262 DEATH OF REV, P. B. HALLO RAN. 

Top induced the Bishop to make a further division of the mis- 
sion, and the latter became an independent congregation. 
Father Hughes was transferred to it, and Rev. S. Wall be- 
came pastor of Huntingdon, Having ministered to the con- 
gregation until October, 1865, he was appointed president of 
the diocesan seminary, and Rev. O. P. Gallagher succeeded 
him. During his pastorate he built a brick residence by the 
side of the church, besides making other improvements in the 
church and its surroundings. In July, 1868, he was trans- 
ferred to Wilmore. Among his successors changes were fre- 
quent until July, 1871, when Rev. Martin Murphy was ap- 
pointed. His immediate predecessor was Rev. Patrick B. 
Halloran, whose feeble health forced him to retire from ac- 
tive duty. Soon after withdrawing from the congregation he 
determined to cross the ocean to his native land, in the hope 
of recruiting his failing health. But it was not so ordained ; 
for no sooner had he landed than he was obliged to retire to 
the hospital of the Sisters of Mercy at Cork, where a few days 
later, October nth, 1871, he gave up his soul to God, being 
then in the 26th 3^ear of his age, and not having quite com- 
pleted the second in the sacred ministry. His remains were 
taken to Broadford, in the county Clare, where they w^ere 
honored by interment in the same church in whicn he had 
been baptized. 

Rev. Patrick B. Halloran was born at Broadford, 
county Clare, about the year 1845, ^^^ having almost com- 
pleted his studies at Killaioo College, Waterford, he came to 
this country in the summer of 1868 and entered St. Michael's 
Seminary. Upon the completion of his course of theology 
he was ordained and stationed at Broad Top, but was soon 
after transferred to Huntingdon, from which he also visited 
Lewistown, in the Diocese of Harrisburg, where he commenced 
the erection of a church. 

Father Murphy, soon after his appointment, purchased a 
piece of ground near the town for a cemetery. A new im- 
petus has been given to business in the last few years, and 
the population has considerably increased. The congrega- 
tion has also been benefited a little, but the increase is not 
considerable, and it will not number more than fifty families, 



BROAD TOP. 263 

if so many. But its future prospects, though by no means 
flattering, are yet more encouraging than they were at any 
previous period of its history. Father Murphy was succeed- 
ed by the present pastor, Rev. Arthur Devlin, in the middle 
of November, 1878. 

The pastor of Huntingdon has also to attend a small mis- 
sion at Mount Union, ten miles east on the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road, which he visits once m a month on a week-day. The 
number of families is quite small, but a Catholic gentleman, 
Mr. John Dougherty, has donated a few acres of ground as 
the site for a church which will probably be erected at no 
distant day. 



Broad Top City is situated on a short branch of the Hunt- 
ingdon and Broad Top Railroad, about twenty- two miles 
south of the former town, and owes its rise to the rich coal- 
field in which it stands. In the beginning of its history the 
congregation was visited from Huntingdon, but the number 
of Catholics increasing, Father Doyle built a frame church, 
50 feet in length and 30 in width, in the summer of 1859, which 
was dedicated, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, 
by Very Rev. James O'Connor, Adm., October 30th of the 
same year. The church stood in the village of Dudley, about 
one and a half miles west of Broad Top, and was long known 
as the Dudley church. Immediately before the breaking out 
of the Rebellion mining began to be carried on very exten- 
sively, the Catholic population increased, and it became neces- 
sary to appoint a resident pastor that the Holy Sacrifice might 
be offered up every Sunday. Rev. P. Hughes, who had for 
some time visited the congregation from Huntingdon, was 
transferred thither in the beginning of 1863, and became the 
first resident pastor. From 1861 to the close of the Rebel- 
lion was the season of the congregation's greatest numerical 
strength and prosperity. Fr. Hughes built an elegant frame 
pastoral residence, and finding the church too small he re- 
placed it by a large frame edifice, which was dedicated by the 
Bishop September i8th, 1864. 



264 CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 

Four years later Rev. W. A. Nolan succeeded to the pas- 
torate, and Fr. Hughes was transferred to Braddock's Field. 
The congregation met with a serious loss in the total destruc- 
tion of the church by fire, November 28th, 1869. It was re- 
placed by another frame building, which was dedicated by 
Very Rev. J. Tuigg, V.F., July 21st, 1870. Father Nolan 
was soon after succeeded by Rev. P. B. Halloran, who in 
turn soon gave place to Rev. R. Brow^n. Owing to the par- 
tial cessation of work in the mines and the imprudent strikes 
of the miners the congregation had for several years been 
declining in numbers and importance, though still large. Fr. 
Brown was succeeded, in December, 1875, by Rev. Jas. P. 
Tahaney. Again the congregation sustained a loss in the 
burning of the church and pastoral residence, on Holy Satur- 
day, April 15th, 1876. The destruction of the church is con- 
fidently believed to have been the work of an incendiary, for 
great dissatisfaction had long existed regarding its location. 
It stood at Dudley ; one and a half miles east was Broad Top, 
and four miles further east was East Broad Top. Many 
wished the church to be at Broad Top, as being more central, 
and feeling on the matter was stronger than it was Christian. 

Upon the destruction of the church the Bishop decided 
that a new one should be built at Dudley and another at East 
Broad Top. But the condition of the congregation, reduced 
as it was by the hard times, did not favor the undertaking, 
and Father Tahaney purchased a property for $1500 consisting 
of about an acre of ground with a large frame dwelling and 
several other buildings on it. The dwelling is used as a pas- 
toral residence, and one of the other buildings has been trans- 
formed into a temporary church. Father Tahaney was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Jos. Gallagher September, 1876, and he by 
Rev. J. Bullion, the present pastor, February 8, 1879. For 
the accommodation of the people of East Broad Top, Mass 
is now offered up for them once or twice in the month in a 
school-house. 

The mission, although much smaller than it was formerly, 
will yet number perhaps one hundred and fifty families. What 
it is destined to be in the future will depend upon the future 
of the coal-mines ; but any increase is not to be expected, at 
least not for many years. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

IN BLAIR COUNTY. 

General remarks — St. Patrick's Church, Newry — Rev. Jas. Bradley — St. Luke's 
Church, Sinking Valley — Hollidaysburg — Early Catholic settlers^St. Mary's 
Church — Conversion of Hayden Smith — St. Michael's German Church — 
St. Joseph's Church, Williamsburg — Altoona — St. John's Church — Lloydsville 
mission — Church of the Immaculate Conception, German — St. Matthew's 
Church, Tyrone. 

Blair County, which was formed from Huntingdon and 
Bedford in 1846, though smaller than either, possesses a Catho- 
lic population far larger in the present than both, and af- 
fords better promise for the future. It is the only portion of 
the diocese east of the mountains upon which we are per- 
mitted to look with satisfaction. Favored rather by circum- 
stances than by nature, it was at first traversed by the 
Pennsylvania Canal, which, terminating in its eastern division 
at Hollidaysburg, made that the most important town between 
Harrisburg and Pittsburg. In later years it reaped and is 
still reaping a yet greater advantage from the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, especially at Altoona, as we shall have occasion to 
remark in the following pages. It is the third county in the 
two dioceses in point of Catholic population, and contains 
perhaps nine thousand souls. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, NEWRY. 

The village of Newry is situated near the foot of the 
eastern slope of the Allegheny Mountains, about nine miles 
south of Altoona, with which it is connected by a branch of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad. Here resides Rev. Jas. Bradley, the 
patriarch of the secular clergy of the two dioceses, full of 
health and vigor and gi\ring promise of many more years of 



2 66 REV. JAMES BRADLEY,. 

usefulness and edification before being called to his reward. 
Leaving Ireland, his native country, to dedicate himself to 
the cause of religion in the wilds of America, he emigrated 
to the United States, in 1825, and entered Mount St. Mary's 
College, Md., to complete his studies. Having spent five 
years there under the spiritual direction of the venerable 
Simon Gabriel Brute, afterwards Bishop of Vincennes, Mr. 
Bradley was ordained to the sacred ministry in the church of 
Conewago, Pa., September 20th, 1830. It is worthy of remark 
that he is the first priest ordained by the saintly Bishop 
Kenrick. Writing of his entering upon the mission. Father 
Bradley tells me : '' I soon after (ordination) set out from 
Emmittsburg with Father Stillenger for the Pennsylvania 
mission. ... I offered up my first Holy Mass in the 
mission at Bedford on Sunday, and drove the same day thirty 
miles to Newry, where I said my second Mass. I then drove 
to Loretto, and after spending a few days with Rev. Dr. Gal- 
litzin, I took charge of the Ebensburg congregation." When 
noticing that congregation I shall have something further to 
remark on the labors of the venerable missionary. Having re- 
mained at Ebensburg about two years, ministering to the 
spiritual necessities of a very large district, Father Bradley 
was transferred to Newry, which from the beginning had 
been embraced within the range of his missionary labors. 

Writing of the foundation of the town and congregation of 
Newry, Father Bradley says : '' The first settlers of Newry 
were Patrick Cassidy and Henry M'Connell, who emigrated 
from Newry (county Down), Ireland, and laid out the town 
and called it Newry, after their native place, about the time 
that Dr. Gallitzin began his laborious mission at Loretto 
(1799). It was one of Dr. Gallitzin's stations for sixteen years, 
.until the number of Catholic settlers increased and undertook 
to build a stone church in 1816. It was dedicated under the 
patronage of St. Patrick. My predecessors here Avere Dr. 
Gallitzin, Fathers M'Girr, Kearns (of Chambersburg), Hey- 
den. Archbishop Hughes, and Father O'Reilly^ The old 
stone church was still in use when I came to Newry, on the 
first Sunday of Advent, 1832. The present church was then 
in process of erection." Since that date, a period of forty- 



ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, SINKING VALLEY. 267 

eight years, there has been no change of pastors. But with 
Newry the good priest had many other places to visit, as will 
appear in the sequel. The new church, which is built of 
brick and is still occupied, was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick 
August nth, 1833. The congregation had Mass at that time 
on one Sunday in the month ; then, as new missionary centres 
were formed and the sphere of Father Bradley's labor was 
narrowed, the Holy Sacrifice was offered up twice in the 
month, and finally the good pastor's labors were confined, as 
they have now been for thirty years, to Newry alone. When 
Bishop O'Connor visited the congregation in 1847 it num- 
bered, as he states in his Notes, four hundred souls. About 
twenty years ago Father Bradley built a chapel for week-day 
Masses adjoining his residence. The congregation has con- 
tinued for many years, as it will in the future, gradually to 
increase. The people are almost exclusively farmers, and are 
Irish or of Irish parentage. They have grown up around 
their common father, who has baptized nearly all, and has 
watched over them and guided them with a father's care ; 
and they, in turn, as is but right, entertain for him sentiments 
of filial affection. All will unite with them in wishing their 
good pastor many years of life before he is called to the joy 
of his Lord. In the fall of 1879 Rev. J. Ward was appointed 
assistant to Father Bradley. 

ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, SINKING VALLEY. 

Sinking Valley extends south from Tyrone, between two 
spurs of the Allegheny Mountains, the distance from that town 
to the church being about six miles. The valley owes its 
name to a peculiarity of the surface of the ground, which 
sinks in many places as if acted upon by a subterranean cur- 
rent. Being near the line of emigration from the East to the 
West, a small number of Catholic families settled there before 
the close of the last century. When Dr. Gallitzin wrote from 
Taneytown, where he was then stationed, to Bishop Carroll, 
in March, 1799, requesting permission to enter the Pennsyl- 
vania mission to labor among the Catholics of the mountain 
district, he named Sinking Valley as the seat of a Catholic 



268 HOLLIDAYSBURG. 

colony."^ He was the first priest to visit the place/and he 
continued his visits until the arrival of Father Hey den at 
Bedford relieved him of the country east of the mountains. 
It remained under the jurisdiction of the latter until 1840; 
but his visits, like those of his predecessor, were necessarily 
made at distant intervals. In that year Father Bradley took 
charge of the congregation, and in the same year built the 
little frame church which is yet standing, and dedicated it to 
St. Luke. Little change took place in the congregation dur- 
ing that time, or indeed since, for it is as large now, and no 
larger, than it was seventy-five years ago. For thirteen years, 
as he informed me, Father Bradley continued to visit the 
church on one Sunday in the month, until Rev. J. Tuigg was 
appointed to Altoona, when Sinking Valley became tributary 
to that church. So it remained for perhaps eight years, until 
a resident pastor was appointed to Tyrone, when it passed 
under his care. Slender were the hopes that its condition 
would ever improve, owing to the small number of Catholics. 
But at length, in April, 1877, Rev. Ed. M'S weeny was 
appointed the first and only resident pastor. Speaking of the 
congregation he said there were less than half a dozen families, 
and remarked that when he had a full attendance at Sunday- 
school there were two children present. He remained until 
September of the same year, when he was transferred to 
Williamsburg, and St. Luke's reverted to Tyrone. So it re- 
mains, and in all probability will remain. 

Sinking Valley, like all the early settlements, was selected 
on account of the fertility of its soil ; but when the attention 
of the native and foreign population was turned to other pur- 
suits than agriculture it lost its attraction, and with it all hope 
of improvement. For unfortunately farming is not esteemed 
as it should be among us. 

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, HOLLIDAYSBURG. 

Hollidaysburg, the county-seat of Blair County, is situated 
near the foot of the eastern slope of the mountains. It lies 

* Life of Dr. Gallitzin, by Miss Brownson, p. iii. 



FRANKSTOWN. 269 

also on the route of the early emigrants, and for that reason it 
attracted the attention of the first settlers. The date of the 
foundation of the town is uncertain, but it was probably about 
the beginning of this century. The town takes its name, how- 
ever, from William and Adam Holliday, who settled here in the 
year 1768. It was incorporated as a borough in 1836, and had 
in 1870 a population of 2952. Gaysport, on the opposite side 
of the Juniata River, had at the same time a population of 
1799. Being at the western terminus of the eastern division 
of the canal, and lying in the midst of a fertile country, it was 
for many years a place of considerable activity. At present 
it manufactures pig and bar iron to a limited extent. 

Catholics were found among the residents of Frankstown, 
a village three miles east of Hollidaysburg, before the close 
of the last century, and it was in behalf of these among others 
that Dr. Gallitzin asked permission, as we have seen, to enter 
the Pennsylvania mission. It may be that he visited the 
place as early as 1796. Frankstown, though but a small 
village, dates back to the middle of the last century and is 
mentioned by Col. Armstrong as a well-known place in 1756.* 
The few scattered families of the neighborhood formed a part 
of Dr. Gallitzin's missionary field until the arrival of Father 
Heyden. After Rev. H. Lemcke took up his residence at 
Ebensburg in 1834, he paid Hollidaysburg a few visits. At 
length it was transferred to the jurisdiction of Father Bradley 
of Newry, a place but three miles distant from it. The im- 
portance of the town, which ranked next after Pittsburg, in 
the western part of the State, in business, refinement, and 
politics, had attracted so large a number of Catholics that a 
church was deemed necessary. As early as the summer of 
1 83 1 Bishop Kenrick had asked the views of Dr. Gallitzin on 
the propriety of building a church, but we are not told what 
opinion was held by the venerable missionary. It was not 
until 1 841 that the present church was commenced by Father 
Bradley. The dedication did not, however, take place until 
March 17th, 1844, when the ceremony was performed by 
Father Heyden. The church is a substantial brick building 

* Annals of the West, p. 143. 



270 



CONVERSION OF HA YDEN SMITH. 



87 feet in length by 63 in width, with a steeple in the centre 
in front, which was not, however, built until some years later. 
There are three altars, that in the centre being an elegant 
piece of workmanship. Over it is an altar-piece, a crucifixion, 
which is a painting of considerable merit. 

The life and conversion of Mr. Hayden Smith, the archi- 
tect of this and several other churches, offers so forcible and 
fitting an illustration of the feeling of the sects towards the 
Church in that part of the State, and in the earlier years of 
our history, that, without offering any apology for the digres- 
sion, I shall present it to the reader. Speaking of the con- 
versions effected by the writings of Dr. Gallitzin, Miss Brown- 
son says :* 

'' One of the best known is perhaps that of Hayden Smith, 
the architect, son of Irish Protestants, brought up in such 
hatred of the Church that his father, when dying, enjoined 
upon him never to associate with Catholics, or touch their 
books or anything belonging to them, of course never to enter 
a Catholic church, and, if possible, to avoid living in the same 
town with Catholics. So solemn and earnest, we should say 
so horrible, was this death-bed injunction that it made the 
deepest impression, and the youth determined to carry it out 
to the very letter; he journeyed from city to city in England, 
Ireland, Canada, and the United States, but everywhere the 
cross was before him, the Catholics about him ; finally he 
found himself in one of the bitterest towns of Pennsylvania, 
where the most violent animosity to the Catholics was freely 
displayed. In that very stronghold of ignorance and preju- 
dice Mr. Smith met v/ith a copy of the ' Defence of Catholic 
Principles.' He was about to throw it down in disgust, when 
it occurred to him that nothing could afford him better argu- 
ments against the despised Catholics than one of their own 
absurd books ; he read, and he believed ; he could not doubt, 
was received into the Church, and spent the greater portion 
of his long life in planning Catholic churches ; he was the 
architect of the brick church in Loretto, of St. Mary's in Lan- 
caster, and many others, and at the time of his death was oc- 

* Life of Dr. Gallitzin, pp. 311, 312. 



CHANGES OF PASTORS, 271 

cupied in beautifying the famous Central Park in New 
York." 

To return to our subject : Father Bradley celebrated Mass 
in the new church on two Sundays in the month for one year 
from its dedication, after which a resident priest was appoint- 
ed. Mass was then celebrated on three Sundays until 1853, 
since which it is offered up every Sunday. Rev. R. A. Wilson, 
D.D., was the first resident pastor. At the end of a year he 
gave place to Rev John C. Brady, who remained until the 
autumn of 1848. The growth of the congregation in the years 
immediately following the erection of the church was more 
rapid than was that of any of the surrounding parishes ; and 
from the Notes of Bishop O'Connor we learn that at the time 
of his first visit, in 1847, it contained seven hundred souls. 
Father Brady was succeeded after a short interval, December 
20th, 1848, by Rev. John Walsh, whose tenure of office was 
destined to be more prolonged than that of his predecessors. 
He built a brick residence in 185 1. When the Papal Nuncio, 
Cardinal Cajetan Bedini, visited the United States, he stopped 
at HoUidaysburg on his way to Pittsburg in the beginning of 
December, 1853, and administered confirmation in St. Mary's 
Church. During the construction of the New Portage Rail- 
road, by which it was intended to connect the eastern and 
western division of the canal by rail, instead of drawing the 
freight and passengers on cars by stationary engines, as on 
the Old Portage, as well as during the construction of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, the labors of Father Walsh were 
greatly increased. The distance to be travelled, the impass- 
able nature of the roads in the mountains, the number of 
hands employed on the works, and the frequent occurrence of 
accidents rendered the duties of the priest a herculean task, 
and it is a matter of astonishment how one man was capable 
of performing so arduous a ministry. A little congregation 
was then springing into life, which, prior to the appointment 
of Father Tuigg, was, as we shall see, annexed to the mission 
of the pastor of HoUidaysburg. 

In May, 1854, a number of Sisters of Mercy from Pitts- 
burg took charge of the schools, which had for some time 
been conducted by lay teachers ; and the large and elegant 



272 



ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH. 



convent, school, and academj^ buildings which yet stand were 
elected for their reception. 

But the completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which 
gave birth to Altoona, the supplanter of HolHdaysburg, dimin- 
ished the importance of the latter. In 1868 Father Walsh 
erected another brick building, the lower story of which is 
used for a school and the upper is a hall. At length, after hav- 
ing presided over the congregation for almost thirty years, 
he was transferred to Altoona, upon the promotion of Father 
Tuigg to the See of Pittsburg, in March, 1876. He was suc- 
ceeded by his brother. Rev. Thos. Walsh, who is yet pastor 
of the congregation. The Sisters of Mercy were also trans- 
ferred to other fields of usefulness in the summer of the same 
year, and were succeeded in the school and academ)^ by the 
Sisters of St. Joseph from Ebensburg, 

The congregation of St. Mary's, like the town in which it 
is, has fallen from its former prosperous condition, and will 
not number more at present than it did thirty years ago. The 
future is not reassuring. 

ST. MICHAEL'S GERMAN CHURCH, HOLLIDAYSBURG. 

A part of the first settlers in the vicinity of HoUidaysburg 
were Germans, but, like their countrymen in many other parts 
of the diocese, they had to content themselves in the begin- 
ning with such advantages as circumstances placed within 
their reach, and live in the hope of better times. But while 
they waited in expectation the greater part of them lost their 
language, and their children grew up more famiHar with the 
English than with their mother-tongue. Nearly all the pres- 
ent German congregations are largely — many exclusively — 
composed of emigrants. 

The germ of the present congregation appears to have 
first attracted attention about the year 1856, when one of the 
Benedictine fathers from St. Vincent's Abbey visited the 
German Catholics of Blair County once in the month. This 
arrangement continued until the erection of the German 
church at Altoona, in i860, when HoUidaysburg was attached 
to it. Rev. G. Kircher, who was then pastor of that parish, 
organized the icongregation of which we are now treating and 



WILLIAMSBURG. 273 

commenced the erection of a church. Upon its completion it 
was dedicated by the Bishop, December 20th, 1863, under the 
invocation of St. Michael. The church, which is compara- 
tively small, is neat and substantial and is elegantly finished 
in the interior, being furnished with three altars. The whole 
is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, and is fur- 
nished with a steeple in the centre in front. Soon after its 
completion a school-house was also built and a school opened 
by a lay teacher. Father Kircher was transferred thither in 
1864 and became the first resident pastor. A residence was 
also secured, which, though small, was occupied for a few 
years until a larger one was erected. In 1868 Father Kircher 
was succeeded by Rev. J. B. Schmidt, and he, after a time, 
by Rev. Geo. Allman. About the year 1873 he placed the 
school under the care of the Sisters of St. Agnes, whom he 
introduced into the parish and provided with a convent, and 
they still continue to conduct it. Toward the close of the 
following year he was succeeded by Rev. J. Keuenzer. The 
congregation is small and its future increase will be very 
gradual. Fr. Keuenzer was succeeded in November, 1878, 
by the present pastor. Rev. J. Kaib. 

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, WILLIAMSBURG. 

Williamsburg is situated on the Juniata River, thirteen 
miles east of Hollidaysburg, with which, as well as with 
Altoona, it is connected by a branch of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. The scenery on the river in the vicinity of the 
town is very fine. The town was laid out in 1794 by a 
German named Jacob Ake, who called it Akestown; but 
previous to his death he changed its name to Williamsburg, 
in honor of his son William, who was about to leave him to 
penetrate further into the wilds. The plan of selling lots on 
lease by the payment of one Spanish milled silver dollar 
yearly forever was adopted by him, and to this day most 
all the lots pay that tax. One of the finest springs of water 
to be met anywhere flows through the town, furnishing water 
for a number of mills.* 

* Day's Historical Collections and Renner's Altoona and Pennsylvania Railroad 
Guide, 1878, 1879. 



274 



ALTOONA. 



It cannot now be ascertained with certainty when the first 
Catholics settled in the town and its vicinity, but until Mass 
was offered up for them they attended one of the surround- 
ing churches. At length, about the year i860, it was deter- 
mined to build a church, and encouraged by Father Walsh, of 
Hollidaysburg, under whose jurisdiction the town was, and 
aided by their Protestant friends, the few Catholic families 
commenced. The church was finished in the autumn of 1861, 
and was dedicated by the Bishop on the 9th of October. It 
is a beautiful little edifice modelled after the Gothic style of 
architecture, and has a steeple in the centre in front. For a 
time it was visited from Hollidaysburg, and then by one of 
the priests attached to St. Francis' College, Loretto. The 
writer visited it from that institution in the autumn and early 
winter of 1869, and it was the first church committed to his 
care. When the congregation performed the exercise of the 
Jubilee at that time there were but twenty-eight communi- 
cants. Soon after this time it was again attached to Holli- 
daysburg, and so it remained until the spring of 1876, when it 
was visited from Altoona: At length, in the fall of 1877, Rev. 
Ed. M'Sweeny was transferred thither from Sinking Valley 
and Mass was offered up every Sunday. With the exception 
of his brief pastorate. Mass has always been celebrated on 
one Sunday only in the month. Not long, however, after his 
appointment Fr. M'Sweeny was rendered incapable of further 
exercising the office of the sacred ministry on the mission by a 
paralytic stroke, which forced him to retire to the hospital. 
Again the church was placed under the care of a priest of St. 
Francis' College, and so it remains. There are no more than 
twenty families in the town and its vicinity, and no flattering 
prospects can be predicted at least for the immediate future. 

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, ALTOONA. 

The city of Altoona is situated at the foot of the eastern 
slope of the main ridge of the Allegheny Mountains, and at 
the head of what was known in frontier history as the Tucka- 
hoe Valley. The ground rises north and south from the 
railroad, which at that point is 1 164 feet above the level of 



FIRST MASS IN ALTOONA. 



275 



the Atlantic Ocean. The name is said to have been derived 
from the Itahan word alto, high. It is a creation of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad Company, upon which its inhabitants almost 
wholly depend, and it is 116 miles east of Pittsburg by that 
thoroughfare. Here in 1850 the company began to erect their 
shops, which they have since constantly been enlarging, until 
they are now perhaps the most extensive in the world. Here 
are built all the locomotives and cars for the main line and 
its branches, and here, too, the principal part of the repairing 
is done, as well as work for other roads. From being little 
less than a wilderness in 1849, when the site was purchased 
and the city laid out, the population reached 3951 in i860, 
15,329 in 1875, and it can now be little less than 20,000, about 
two fifths of which is Catholic. Altoona was chartered as a 
city in 1868.^ 

A large number of Catholics, it is superfluous to state, 
were employed in grading the railroad up the mountain side, 
and when Altoona was laid out and the shops erected it is 
probable that some of these were among the first to find em- 
ployment and a home in the incipient city. Be that as it may, 
the number of Catholics was such that Rev. J. Walsh began 
to celebrate Mass there, being assisted for a time by Rev. R. 
Brown. He soon found it necessary to purchase lots — which 
lie three squares north from the railroad station — and begin 
the building of a church. This must have been about the 
close of 185 1 or the beginning of the following year. The 
church was finished by Father Bradley, as he informs me, and 
was also visited by him for some months. It was dedicated 
in the early part of 1853, but the precise date has not been 
ascertained. The church was a frame building, simple in 
style and finish, and was 60 feet in length by 35 in width. 
The name of Rev. J. Neuper also occurs in 1852 and 1853 as 
occasionally ministering to the Catholics of Altoona. 

But the rapid growth of the town and the promise it 
already gave of future importance made it apparent that it 
could not long depend on priests from other places. Accord- 



* Compiled principally from Renner's Altoona City Directory for 1878-79, pp. 
67 et seq. 



276 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH. 

ingly in July, 1853, Rev. J. Tuigg, till then of Pittsburg, and 
the present Bishop of the diocese, was appointed first resident 
pastor. He purchased a house by the side of the church, 
which he occupied as his residence. He also bought a few 
acres of ground in the suburbs for a cemetery. Time went 
on, the congregation increased, and although the Germans 
built a church, St. John's was no longer capable of accommo- 
dating the numbers who thronged to it on Sundays. With a 
view of aftervv ards building a large brick church Father Tuigg 
put an addition to the rear of the existing edifice, w^hich, 
while enlarging it in the present, was destined afterwards to 
become a part of the new church. When finished it was 
dedicated b}' Bishop Domenec, November i6th, 1862. 

In 1869 the Bishop appointed Fr. Tuigg Vicar Forane for 
the eastern part of the diocese. Prior to this time he accom- 
plished another work which is one of the most noble monu- 
ments of his zeal and activity. Although a school had long 
been in existence, he was anxious to provide a more suitable 
building and also to place the school upon a more permanent 
basis. He accordingly erected a large and elegant brick block, 
four stories high, by the side of the church. The building is 
so arranged that the part towards the church is divided into 
school-rooms, vf hile the other half is finished for a convent for 
the religious who teach the school. It is large, beautifully 
located at the corner of two streets, and presents a very pleas- 
ing appearanc :. Into the convent he introduced a colony of 
Sisters of Charity from Cincinnati in August, 1870, of which 
mention will be made in its proper place. 

But the congregation increased more rapidly than ever, 
and Father Tuigg, who in the beginning had sometimes ex- 
tended his missionary labors to Tyrone, Sinking Valley, and 
perhaps one or two other places, now found himself unable 
to minister to the smgle congregation of St. John's without 
the aid of an assistant. The first was appointed in 1871. 

At length the period seemed to have arrived for the erec- 
tion of the new church, and it was undertaken in 1872, the 
corner-stone being laid by the Bishop on the 22d of June. 
The work progressed under the pastor's vigorous administra- 
tion ; but before its completion the panic fell upon the country, 



FATHER TUIGG A BISHOP. 277 

the number of hands was reduced in the shops, and the wages 
of those who were retained were cut down to a low figure. 
Notwithstanding this the work was brought to a successful 
termination at the end of three years, and Father Tuigg had 
the satisfaction of contemplating an edifice of which he might 
well feel proud. Preparations were made for the dedication 
on a scale in keeping w4th the grandeur of the temple, and 
the ceremony was performed by the Bishop on the 30th of 
May, 1875. The church is of brick, is 120 feet in length by 
60 in width, and is modelled after the Gothic style of architec- 
ture. At the front corners are twin towers that rise to the 
height of about 180 feet. There is a basement under the 
entire building, which is wholly above the level of the ground. 
The length of the lot did not permit the entrance to be made 
from the. front, it being the object of the pastor to make the 
church as long as possible ; and hence it was made from the 
two sides at the front. After entering, a flight of stairs is 
ascended from each side into a vestibule which opens into the 
church. This, although a saving of space, cannot be regarded 
as a happy arrangement. The means of egress are not suffi- 
cient for a building of its size, and would appear to great dis- 
advantage in case of a panic. The distinctive characteristics 
of the Gothic style are not so prominent in the interior 
as in the exterior of the sacred edifice. It is without pillars, 
and the ceiling follows the inclination of the roof for some 
distance from the sides and is then horizontal. There is a 
deep gallery for the use of the people, and another above it 
for the organ and the choir. The pev/s are arranged without 
a middle aisle. There are three beautiful Gothic altars, and 
the windows are filled with stained glass in appropriate 
designs. The interior is also tastefullv frescoed. On the 
whole it is one of the largest, most substantial, and elegant 
churches in the diocese. 

About the time the church was finished the pastoi^al resi- 
dence was also considerably enlarged and improved. Having 
been faithful in a few things, Father Tuigg was called by the 
voice of the Sovereign Pontiff to be placed over many, and 
was nominated to the See of Pittsburg upon the division of 
the diocese and the transfer of Bishop Domenec to the new 



278 LLOYDSVILLE MISSION. 

See of Allegheny in January, 1876. He was consecrated on 
the 19th of the following- March, as was stated at length in a 
previous chapter. 

Upon the promotion of Father Tuigg, Rev. J. Walsh, of 
Hollidaysburg, was appointed pastor of Altoona, and he re- 
turned to it after an absence of twenty-five years. He has 
since remained, but owing to the increase in the congregation 
he has alwa3^s had two assistants. In September, 1878, he 
placed the boys' school in the hands of a number of Francis- 
can Brothers from Loretto, who opened a monastery in the 
city at that time. 

The Catholic population of Altoona is graduall}- increas- 
ing, and must continue to increase with the growth of the 
city ; and the day cannot be far distant when St. John's, now 
the largest English congregation outside of Pittsburg, will 
have to be divided and another church erected. 

LLOYDSVILLE MISSION. 

In 1872-3 a narrow-gauge railroad was laid from Belh 
wood (formerly Bell's Mills), seven miles east of Altoona, on 
the Pennsylvania Railroad, north-west up a grade averaging 
158 feet to the mile, through delightful mountain scenery, to 
a spot seven miles distant Avhere extensive coal-mines had 
been opened. A village soon sprung up that was at first 
known as Bell's Gap, but Avhich afterwards took the name of 
Lloydsville ; and such was the number of Catholics found 
among the miners that it became advisable to have the Holy 
Sacrifice offered up in their midst. It is now a regular 
monthly station, but as yet there is no evidence that it will be 
necessary to build a church for some years. 

It IS probable that a mission will also be formed soon at a 
point in the mountains five miles west of Altoona and three 
north of the railroad, to which a branch road has been laid, 
and in which mines have lately been opened and coke-burning 
commenced ; and although in Cambria County, it is proba- 
ble that it will be attended from Altoona. As yet the number 
of Catholics is small. 



GERMAN CHURCH, ALTOONA, 279 



CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, GERMAN, 
ALTOONA. 

A few German Catholics were found among the first set- 
tlers in Altoona. From about the year 1855 they were com- 
mitted to the care of one of the Benedictine fathers from St. 
Vincent's Abbey, who crossed the mountains once in the 
month to minister to their spiritual necessities. At length a 
church was contemplated, lots vv^ere purchased a few squares 
south of the railroad station, and work was commenced in 
i860. Before the completion of the building Mass is said to 
have been offered up for the people for a short time in the 
English church. But the church was soon finished, and was 
dedicated on the i8th of December, i860. It is a frame build- 
ing 70 feet in length by 40 in width, simple and plain in its 
style and finish. Mass was not, however, offered up every 
Sunday until the appointment of the first resident pastor, 
Rev. Christian Schuler, February, 1862. He was succeeded 
in September of the same year by Rev. J. M. Bierl, who in 
the following March gave place to Rev. G. Kircher. Having 
remained until August, 1864, he was transferred to Hollidays- 
burg, and the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Rev. 
Anthony Rottensteiner. Durmg his administration he built 
a frame pastoral residence. In August, 1866, he gave place 
to Rev. A. Roswogg. He opened a parochial school, for 
the people up to that time — strange lor a German congregation 
— were without it. He was succeeded, April, 1869, by Rev. 
Jos. Deyermeyer ; and he, November 26th, 1870, by the present 
pastor, Rev. John A. Shell. The congregation had all this 
time been gradually increasing and sharing in the prosperity 
of the city, and it now crowded the church to suffocation. A 
new church was imperatively demanded. But instead of 
erecting it at once the more prudent course of dividing the 
work and finishing part at a time was adopted. Plans were 
prepared for a church that when finished should be 120 feet 
in length by 50 in width ; and it was resolved to erect the 
rear half at first against the back of the existing edifice, tear 
away part of the latter, and unite the remainder to the new 



28o TYRONE. 

building until such time as the whole plan could be carried 
out. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop August 20th, 
1 87 1, and when finished the church was dedicated by the 
same prelate, June 22d, 1872. The second half of the new 
church would have been commenced towards the close of 1873, 
and arrangements were being made for it when the panic 
came. It was evidently no time to be making a debt that 
could at all be avoided, and the congregation is still await- 
ing such an improvement in the times as will enable it to 
finish the church. In 1876 Father Shell enlarged the pastor- 
al residence, and in January of the following year he placed 
the schools under the care of the Sisters of St. Agnes, for 
whom he purchased a house to answer the purposes of a 
convent. 

Although arrested in its growth, the congregation must 
continue to increase and prosper. At present it will number 
about one hundred and seventy-five families. 

ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, TYRONE. 

Tyrone is situated on the Pennsylvania Railroad, fifteen 
miles east of Altoona, and like it is an outgrowth of the open- 
ing of that fine. It stands at the opening of the Bald Eagle 
Valley, and is the most northern point reached by the railroad 
between Pittsburg and Philadelphia. It was incorporated as 
a borough in 1856, and it has a population at present of about 
3500. The growth of the town is owing to the coal and lum- 
ber trade of Centre and Clearfield counties. Two branches 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad connect with the main fine at 
this point — the one from the Clearfield coal and lumber re- 
gions, the other running through Centre and Chnton counties 
and connecting with the Philadelphia and Erie Railway and 
Lock Haven. A new branch is being constructed from Lew- 
isburg to connect with the main line at Tyrone, which when 
completed will add to the importance of the town.^ 

The construction of a railroad invariably brings a number 
of Catholics who settle at different points along it, and 

* Renner's Altoona City Directory, 1878-79, p. 252. 



ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH. 281 

Tyrone was no exception. Scarcely was the road completed 
when we find Rev. J. Bradley, of Newry, visiting the place 
and for a time offering up the Holy Sacrifice in a private 
house. Having ministered to the wants of the people from 
the close of 185 1 till the beginning of 1853, the Bishop deter- 
mined that a church should be built. Lots were purchased 
and work was commenced in the spring of 1853. The corner- 
stone was laid on the 29th of May by Rev. W. Pollard, who 
appears to have been pastor of the church for a short time. 
But it was soon after attached to Altoona, from which it was 
attended until about the close of the year 1858. The church 
was dedicated September 24th, 1854, under the invocation of 
St. Matthew the Apostle. It is a brick building, modelled 
after the Gothic style of architecture, and is 75 feet in length 
by 40 in width, with a steeple rising from the centre in front. 

About the end of 1858 Rev. P. M. Sheehan was appointed, 
and remained until about the year 1862, when he was suc- 
ceeded by the present pastor. Rev. John C. Farren. A 
residence was built, and a school was held as regularly as 
circumstances permitted. 

But the ground upon which the church is built yielded in 
course of time, and the sacred edifice was in danger of falling. 
Part of the wall was accordingly taken down in 1876 and re- 
built. The members of the congregation are mainly employed 
on the railroad and in the town, although there is a small 
number of farmers. From what has been said of the town it 
will be seen that the congregation is likely to go on increas- 
ing in the future. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CAMBRIA COUNTY. 

General features of the county — First settlers Catholics — Captain M'Guire — First 
visit of a priest — First appearance of Dr. Gallitzin — His parentage and early 
life — He visits America — Resolves to become a priest — Is ordained — His first 
missions— M'Guire settlement — He takes up his abode in the future Loretto 
— St. Michael's Church — His estates — Loretto. 

Cambria County, being the scene of the labors and sacri- 
fices of the illustrious Prince Gallitzin, as well as the most 
Catholic county in" the western part of the State, is entitled 
to a larger share of our attention than any other. Its Cath- 
olic population may be roughly estimated at from 15,000 to 
18,000 souls. The notice of its civil history is compiled prin- 
cipally from the work of Mr. Sherman Day, already frequently 
quoted in these pages. " The county," says this author, " oc- 
cupies one of the most elevated positions m the State on the 
western declivity of the great Allegheny Mountain. To the 
traveller passing westward this mountain presents a bold, 
precipitous front, but on crossing the summit the declivity 
is very gradual, not exceeding that of ordinary hills, thus 
demonstrating the existence of a broad elevated table-land 
between the Allegheny Mountain and the subordinate range 
of Laurel Hill. The latter mountain skirts the western part 
of the count3^ becoming depressed and broken as it passes 
northward. The surface is exceedingly rugged and broken, 
and the soil is comparatively cold. The principal occupations 
of the inhabitants are agriculture, lumbering, and the labor 
connected with the immense transportation business on the 
public improvements. The latter also furnish a convenient 
market for the surplus produce of the country,"^ 

* Historical Collections, pp. 178, 179. 



CAMBRIA COUNTY. 283 

" Near the northern line of the county there is said to be 
an ancient circular fortification. The embankments are four 
or five feet high, and overgrown with immense trees. There 
were very old clear fields or open prairie lands not far from 
these fortifications, which probably gave the name to Clear- 
field County. . . . 

'' Previous to the year 1789 the tract of country which is 
now included within the limits of Cambria County was a 
wilderness. '• Frankstown settlement,' as it was then called, 
was the frontier of the inhabited parts of Pennsylvania east of 
the Allegheny Mountain. None of the pioneers had ventured 
to explore the western slope of the mountain. A remnant of 
the savage tribes still prowled through the forests and seized 
every opportunity of destroying the dwellings of the settlers 
and butchering such of the inhabitants as were so unfortunate 
as to fall into their hands. The howling of the wolf and the 
shrill screaming of the catamount, or American panther (both 
of which infested the country in great numbers at the period 
of its first settlement), mingled in nightly concert with the 
war-whoop of the savages. 

" It is believed that Captain Michael M'Guire was the first 
white man who settled within the present bounds of Cambria 
County. He settled in the neighborhood of where Loretto 
now stands in the year 1790, and commenced improving that 
now interesting and well-cultivated portion of Allegheny town- 
ship, a large portion of which is still owned and peopled by 
his descendants.^ 

'' Four or five years afterwards the captain's brother 
Peter, with his bride, followed him from Maryland, and be- 
fore a great while six log huts, with roofs of evergreen, stand- 
mg on the little patches of land cleared bv the stout arms of 
half a dozen stalwart men, formed M'Guire's settlement. 
Their first, and for many years their only, near neighbors 
were the settlers at Blair's Mills, twelve miles awav \\o the 
south-east], with a dense forest between. Captain M'Guire 
lost no time in providing for the Church, for which his won- 
derful faith alone cou4d have given him hopes, and took up 

* Historical Collections, p. 179. 



284 FIRST VISIT OF A PRIEST. 

four hundred acres of land, which he made over to Bishop 
Carroll"* 

Rev. Felix Brosius, of whom more hereafter, as well as 
Father Pellentz, visited M'Guire's settlement from Cone- 
wago perhaps two or three times prior to the arrival of Dr. 
Gallitzin. '' When Mr. Brosius visited it he set apart a por- 
tion of the ground donated by Captain M'Guire, and conse- 
crated it for a cemetery, although as yet unneeded. When 
Mr. Lanigan visited ' Sportsman's Hall ' and ' O'NeilFs Vic- 
tory ' he, too, stayed a few days at the settlement, said Mass 
in the captain's cabin, and, distressed at seeing cattle on con- 
secrated ground, had the men and boys band together to 
enclose it. Too soon afterwards, November 17th, 1796, Cap- 
tain M'Guire, like Father Brauers, found a final resting-place 
in the land he had given to the Church." f 

But some time before the death of this Christian hero a 
figure enters upon the stage for a moment that was destined 
to be one of the most conspicuous in the history of the Church 
in America. The manner of his first coming displays so much 
of the Christian heroism and charity of the pioneers, illustrates 
so admirably the labors of our first missionaries, and affords so 
striking an instance of the way in which Providence some- 
times brings about the most important results by means that 
appear to the eye of man to be merely accidental, that I can- 
not forego the pleasure of giving it to the reader at length, 
nor convey it in more fitting language than that of Miss 
Brownson, who collected the account of it from a traditional 
history which I have more than once heard recited m the 
homes of the mountaineers : 

'' In the summer following Dr. Gallitzin's ordination (1795), 
Mrs. John Burgoons, a Protestant woman, living beyond the 
limits of civilization, a week's journey from Baltimore, by 
unbroken forests and now and then an Indian path, far up the 
Allegheny Mountains, was taken very ill, and begged so hard 
to see a Catholic priest that Mrs. Luke M'Guire, a good Cath- 

* Life of Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, Prince and Priest, by Sarah M. 
Brownson, p. 115. 
f Ibid., p. 117. 



DEMETRIUS AUGUSTINE GALLITZIN. 2S5 

olic neighbor, in company with another person, undertook 
the long- and dangerous journey to Conewago to find one who 
would be able and willing to visit her. The message came to 
Mr. Gallitzin, and he hastened to join the good Samaritans 
and carry the strengthening Sacraments of the Church to the 
stranger in the wilderness. Mrs. M'Guire fretted very much 
at the many delays necessarily incident to the journey, fear- 
ing the woman would die before they could reach her ; but 
she was comforted and made confident by the priest's assur- 
ance that if Mrs. Burgoons so desired to see a priest as they 
said, God, who had given her that desire, would not permit 
her to die until it was fulfilled. His words were so far made 
good that she recovered her health, after being instructed and 
received into the Church, and lived a good Catholic life for 
many years afterwards. His coming was hailed with joy by 
the few famihes scattered in that unbroken country, to which 
only at long intervals a priest had ever penetrated. He said 
Mass in the principal log-house of the settlement, administered 
baptism to a number of children and even one or two grown 
persons, exhorted them all to faith, prayer, courage, and per- 
severance, and having a liberal allowance from his mother— 
his father, since he had chosen to be a priest, did not interest 
himself in furthering his temporal affairs — he considered it 
not a bad investment, and perhaps a kindly act, to purchase 
a quantity of land on the mountain for himself." '^ Four 3^ears 
later he made the summit of these mountains the field of his 
future missionary labors. But before proceeding with our 
narrative it will be necessary to cast a brief glance at the 
early fife of this distinguished man. His subsequent career 
will be identified with the fortunes of his colony. 

" Demetrius Gallitzin, afterwards called Augustine, was 
the only son and heir of one of the oldest and most famous 
houses of the Old World : a Russian family with a pedigree 
longer than that of the reigning czar, which has always influ- 
enced, often controlled, and at times all but filled the throne 
of Russia, numbering in its ranks men of every talent and all 
renown."f The name Gallitzin is traced back with certainty 

*Life, etc., pp. 98, 99. f Ibid., pp. i, 2. 



286 • HIS EARL Y LIFE. 

to the early part of the sixteenth century. Demetrius Alexei- 
vitch GalUtzin, the father of the subject of our remarks, was 
born about the year 1735, and was sent as ambassador to 
France in 1763. August 28th, 1768, he married the Countess 
Ameha von Schmettau, only daughter of the celebrated Prus- 
sian field-marshal of that name, then just twenty years of age. 
They soon after determined to take up their residence at the 
Hague, to which Demetrius had been appointed ambassador. 
They rested for a while on their way at Berlin, where Prin- 
cess jMarianna, their only daughter, was born, December 7th, 
1769. The future Apostle of the Alleghenies was born at the 
Hague, December 22d, 1770. The position which his father 
held under the government prevented him from spending all 
his time with his family ; but his wife was a woman of extra- 
ordinary mental endowments, and she bestowed the utmost 
attention upon the education of her children. Although re- 
siding occasionally in other places, the principal part of her 
time was spent at Miinster, in Germany, where she became 
the centre of an intellectual circle in which the most celebrated 
literary characters of the country figured. She had been 
brought up a Catholic from childhood, but her son was not 
of the true faith. Speaking of his conversion he afterwards 
said : '' ' Raised in prejudice against revelation, I felt every 
disposition to ridicule those very principles and practices 
which I have adopted since. I soon felt convinced of the 
necessity of investigating the different religious systems, in 
order to find out the true one. Although I was born a mem- 
ber of the Greek Church, and although all my male relations 
were either Greeks or Protestants, yet did I resolve to em- 
brace that religion only which, upon impartial inquiry, should 
appear to me to be the pure religion of Jesus Christ. My 
choice fell upon the Catholic Church.' * This occurred when 
he was about seventeen years old ; he took the name of Au- 
gustine in confirmation to please his mother. . . . He 
heard Mass every day with his mother and sister — there were 
frequent communions of the little group — and he even went 
so far as to mention a desire to become a priest, an idea in- 

* Letter to a Protestant Friend, etc., p. 19. 



GALLITZIN' S PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 287 

stantly frowned down by his indignant father and passed over 
by his mother as the caprice or enthusiasm of an inconstant 
boy whose resolves were traced in sand." * 

Of his personal appearance when he obtained his majority 
the same authoress remarks: " Mitri was the M^ry beau ideal 
of a stately young officer ; he was rather tall, being about five 
feet and nine or ten inches high, with the peculiar reticent, 
dignified, high-bred air which has the effect of the most im- 
posing height ; he had a slender and lithe yet compact figure, 
a fine clear complexion, not too fair for manliness, and the 
handsomest dark eyes that ever glanced love or anger from 
the shadow of a military cap — eyes fathomless in their tender- 
ness, flashing fire at the slightest contradiction, full of mischief 
and merriment the instant anything amusing crossed their 
outer or inner vision ; masses of shining black hair clustered 
around a delicately formed, haughtily set head, while a long 
large nose, very prominent and slightly aquiline, gave that 
character, force, and dignity to his countenance which seldom 
if ever accompany features of perfect regularity." f Towards 
the close of his life there was remarkable resemblance between 
his countenance and that of Peter the Great of Russia, as may 
be seen by any one who is curious enough to compare the two 
pictures. 

The education of a young man in his position could not be 
regarded as finished until he had seen other lands ; and it was 
the wish of his parents to have him make a tour of the coun- 
tries of Europe. But the unsettled state of nearly the whole 
continent at that time forced them reluctantly to turn their 
thoughts elsewhere. America, which was then basking in the 
sunshine of its newly acquired independence, and under the 
administration of the illustrious Washington was making such 
rapid strides in material progress as to excite the jealousy of 
old Europe, naturally arrested their attention and determined 
them to send Mitri — as the Prince was familiarly called — to 
that country. After much consultation and reflection. Rev. 
Felix Brosius was selected as his guardian. The princess 
procured letters of introduction from the Prince-Bishops of 

* Life, etc., pp. 54, 55. f Ibid., p. 58. 



288 HE SAILS FOR AMERICA, 

Hildesheim and Paderborn to Bishop Carroll, of Baltimore, 
to whose care she wished to confide her son. To avoid the 
expense and inconvenience of rank, he took the name of Au- 
gustine Schmet, from his mother's family name of Schmettau, 
which was afterwards Americanized to Smith, the name 
which he bore after his ordination and of which more re- 
mains to be said hereafter. But the last days he spent in 
the Old World were little in harmony with the part he was 
destined so soon to play in the New. Says Miss Brown- 
son : 

" He had said good-by to Miinster August 8th (1792), but 
not to his mother so soon, as she with some friends was to 
accompany him to Rotterdam and see him on board the ship. 
Every one did his utmost to make the last days pleasant, and 
it was said that the young prince told afterwards that the 
night before sailing, or else the night before leaving Miinster, 
report is not clear which, he attended a grand ball given for 
him, at which he danced from dark to daylight ; for Mitri was 
young and enjoyed the luxuries of wealth and the pleasures 
of life with a light heart and to the utmost. But when the 
hour came to say his last good-by he was completely dis- 
couraged, and had no heart for the work. . . . All at once 
the whole journey looked very unnecessary to himi ; . . . 
even at that moment, though his baggage and attendants were 
on board, though they saw as they walked along the pier that 
the boat sent to take him to the ship Avas coming near, he 
would gladly have turned back and given it all up ; with the 
simplicity of his character he made no concealment of his 
dread and fear, eagerly begging his mother, whose grief in- 
creased as the moments passed, restrained and controlled as 
it was, showed her more yielding, more tender than he had 
ever seen her, to let him stay, and as she, who had always led 
him, now clung silently to him, her eyes soft with unshed 
tears, he looked at her and impulsively declared he could not 
go, he would die away from home, he was afraid of the ocean 
dashing up at his feet, afraid of the strange people beyond. 
' Mitri, Mitri ! ' exclaimed his mother, shocked into sudden 
•action, and turning instantly with flashing eyes upon him, 
* Mitri ! I am ashamed of you ! ' He was between her and the 



HIS ARRIVAL AT BALTIMORE. 289 

•water, on the very edge of the pier, and her sudden and un- 
expected movement, at a time when he was absorbed in his 
own entreaties, caused him to lose his balance and fail over. 
But the boat sent out for him was close at hand and he was an 
excellent swimmer, so he was quickly rescued, and with one 
last look at his mother standing on the pier, he was swiftly 
rowed to the ship. He sailed from Rotterdam August i8th." "^ 
The seemingly unaccountable reluctance with which he 
left the Old World may have been in part a temptation such 
as those with which Satan frequently assails persons whom 
he is permitted to foresee will be instruments in the hands of 
God for wresting a portion of his kingdom from him. Be 
that as it may, he arrived at Baltimore October 28th, in com- 
pany with several priests for the American mission, and soon 
after waited on Bishop Carroll. In the urgent demand for 
missionaries it could not be expected that Father Brosius 
could accompany the young prince in his travels, nor that the 
latter would be content to follow the missionary in his. But 
young Gallitzin soon began to compare the tranquil state of 
the youthful republic with the turmoil of the Old World, 
and insensibly felt his heart becoming attached to it, at the 
same time that the religious atmosphere in which he hved for 
the present elevated his thoughts and desires to holier aims 
than those to which his noble birth would naturally have led 
him to aspire. He began ere long to hear within him the 
whisperings of a vocation to the ecclesiastical state. In this 
unexpected turn of affairs the Bishop thought it best to per- 
mit him to remain for a time at the Seminary of the Sulpi- 
cians in Baltimore, that he might have leisure for serious re- 
flection on the nature of the new state of life to which he felt 
himself called. " While the Bishop with Mr. Nagot (Superior 
of the seminary) maturely considered the application he had 
made to enter the service of the Church, and knowing well 
the charges given to the young man by his father, the Bishop 
desired him at the same time to apply himself carefully to the 
study of the constitution, laws, manners, and geography of 
the country, and to assist him in doing so took him with him 

* Life, etc., pp. 64, 65. 



290 



HE RESOLVES TO ENTER THE PRIESTHOOD, 



in visiting different parts of his diocese, taking- him into the 
home circle of the most distinguished American families. In 
the book of the Sulpician Seminary at Baltimore it is recorded 
that the frank and honest manners of the young Prince Gallit- 
zin and his excellent education gave Bishop Carroll the liveliest 
pleasure during his journey, but he was astonished to find 
that he travelled only with reluctance, and that nothing could 
make him forget his beloved seminary — a most precious dis- 
position which the prelate considered a certain sign of his 
vocation to the ecclesiastical state, as was indeed the opinion 
of all who knew him. In truth it was soon apparent that 
Mitri had ' no other ambition than to acquire the science of 
the saints, and every day to die to himself and the world.' " * 

The Bishop informed the princess of the course he had 
thought best to pursue, and at the same time paid a high 
tribute to the amiable qualities of her son. As to the prince, 
his mind was fully made up, and, with that tenacity of pur- 
pose and strength of character which marked his subsequent 
career, he applied himself with loving obedience to the course 
which Heaven had marked out for him. Upon hearing later 
of the choice he had made, his mother was disappointed and 
disposed to find fault with the Bishop, thinking that he and 
others had exercised an undue influence over his youthful 
mind ; but the spirit soon triumphed over the flesh and 
caused her to acquiesce in the designs of Providence. His 
father, however, was planning for his promotion in the army 
and had already obtained a commission for him. His proud 
spirit could ill brook the thought that his onl}^ son, the heir 
to his titles and estates, should conceal himself in the Avilds of 
America and devote his talents and his life to the service of 
the poor. He hastened to inform him that his elevation to 
the priesthood would of itself, according to the laws of Russia, 
render him incapable of inheriting the estates to which his 
birth had given him a claim. But I cannot dwell further 
upon the trials to which the young hero was exposed, nor en- 
large upon the influence that was in vain brought to bear 
upon him. He heard the divine call, and, with St. Peter, he 

* Life, etc., pp. 73, 74. 



HE IS ORDAINED A PRIEST. 291 

thought it better to obey God than man. The thorough edu- 
cation he had received enabled the Bishop to permit him to 
enter upon the study of theology after he had devoted a little 
time to American geography, history, and government, 
and so rapid was his progress that he received minor or- 
ders soon, and on November 14th, 1794, was ordained sub- 
deacon. "At the commencement of January" (1795), says 
his httle French note-book, " God gave me the desire to unite 
myself to the Society of the Sulpicians. Communicating this 
to Mr. Nagot, he advised me to refer it to our Lord ; this de- 
sire continues as if it were already accomplished." He was 
admitted a member on the 13th of February of the same year, 
but he afterwards withdrew, although not for many years, as 
we shall see, a step which he could take from the fact 
that the members are bound by no religious vow. On the 
1 8th of March, 1795, he was raised to the sacred dignity of 
the priesthood, being the second priest ordained in the United 
States and the first which this country can claim as wholly 
her own. For although Rev. Stephen Badin was the first or- 
dained a priest, yet he was a deacon before leaving his native 
France. But Rev. D. A. Gallitzin, or Rev. Augustine Smith, 
as he was then called, passed through all the successive steps, 
from the clerical tonsure, on American soil. With a view of 
recruiting his health, impaired by his assiduous application to 
study, he was sent to the mission at Port Tobacco. But finding 
that he was not improving, the Bishop wished to send him to 
the extensive mission of which Conewago was the centre and 
at which his friend. Father Brosius, then was. But he urged 
such reasons against it as drew from the Bishop a letter of 
paternal rebuke and an order to repair without delay to Bal- 
timore. Here he was placed in charge of the German Catho- 
lics of the city, and it was while ministering to them that he 
received the call to go to the theatre of his future labors, as 
we have already seen. Returning to Baltimore, he remained 
until some time in the year 1796, when he entered upon the 
Conewago mission. He visited a number of places in Mary- 
land and Pennsylvania, and resided, for at least a part of the 
time, at Taneytown. It Avas at this time that the extraordinary 
affair of the Livingston family occurred, near Martinsburg, 



292 



HE ENTERS ON THE MISSION. 



Va., in which he played an important part, and for an account 
of which the reader is referred to Miss Brownson's Life (pp. 
100-107).* 

But the young priest's zeal was not alwa3^s according to 
prudence ; he saw abuses and was too hasty in attempting to 
correct them, and complaints of his arbitary measures were 
made to the Bishop. The latter, under date of October 20th, 
1798, wrote him a letter admonishing him in paternal yet for- 
cible terms not to be too anxious to correct all abuses at once, 
nor too desirous of imposing his views upon others. No one 
would for a moment venture to question his zeal and his de- 
sire of spending himself and being spent for the good of his 
people — his entire life is a striking evidence of both — but it is 
equally unquestionable that he inherited and to his dying day 
retained no little of that sense of superiority inherent in the 
nobility of the Old World ; and with it he possessed a will the 
dictates of which no one was permitted to resist, dictates 
which his commanding figure, fiery eye, and thrilling voice 
aided him no little in carrying into execution. To the day of 
his death he could not brook opposition. The terms of the 
Bishop's letter are so applicable to his character during his 
whole life that one or two extracts from it are presented to 
the reader, and the more so as that prelate was fully capable 
of reading his character. Sa3^s the Bishop : " I have already 
often admonished you, and others in whom you have perhaps 
placed more confidence have urged 3^ou, to try more to win 
the affections of your congregations, to lead them by mildness, 
even here and there to overlook some things w^hich are not 
precisely as they should be, that afterwards you may correct 
them by gentle persuasion, instead of at once making use of 
your authority, and carrying that authority to its utmost 
limits. . . . And then, what a doctrine it is that all who 
are under j^our charge should be bound also to yield to every 
opinion you may have, to every proposal you make, without 
being permitted a question." f 

* The affair has recently been treated at length in a small work entitled " The 
Wizard Clip," by the late Rev. J. M. Finoti. 

f Leben und Wirken des Prinzen Demetrius Augustin Gallitzin, von P. Hein- 
rich Lemcke, p. 147. 



DR. GALLITZIN AT LORE T TO. 



293 



At length the Catholics of M'Guire's settlement presented 
a petition to the Bishop asking- him to send them a priest who 
should be permanently stationed among them, and stated as 
an inducement that the land given by the Captain to the 
church would, when cultivated, serve for the priest's subsist- 
ence. Dr. Gallitzin, through whom the petition was presented, 
united with them, and the Bishop granted it in a letter to him 
dated from Washington City, March ist, 1799. Dr. GaUitzin 
reached his mission in the latter part of the summer following, 
but the precise date has not been transmitted to us. He 
found about a dozen families in the settlement, which, with a 
few persons who had come up with him, or about the same 
time, from Maryland and Conewago, formed his parish. But 
we have seen that the field of his missionary labors for many 
years embraced a large tract of territor}^ with its scattered 
families east of the mountains. '' He commenced by putting 
things in order, thankful enough that as yet the field was un- 
ploughed, consequently free from the tares which had so 
choked up the wheat and tortured him in the older and more 
important stations he had attended. He at once divided his 
own land, which had cost about four dollars an acre, into lots 
which he sold for a mere trifle on long crQdit, credit so long that 
much of it still lasts, and he held out the same inducements for 
all who, unable to procure the first means for subsistence, 
would wish to join him, providing always that they were hon- 
est, industrious, or desirous of becoming so; he wanted no 
wolves in sheep's clothing in his fold." "^ His people were all 
poor, and the country in which they lived was still infested 
with bears, wolves, and Indians. The winter, too, on the 
mountain is unusually long and severe, so that it required 
strength of both body and mind to lay the foundation of a 
colony there. But the priest's presence inspired new life into 
the settlement. The state of his farm and the erection of his 
church and house are thus graphically described by his enthu- 
siastic biographer: 

''When he arrived he found that Captain M'Guire had 
very thoughtfully given a few animals as stock for the farm to 

*Life, etc., p. ii8. 



294 



HE BUILDS A CHURCH. 



be prepared for the use of the priest who should Hve on the 
church property, and had placed a man in charge of it and 
them, hoping thus to have a portion cleared and made some- 
what productive while awaiting its reverend occupant. Father 
Gallitzin gave some of these to the tenant whom he displaced 
to live in the houses of the settlers until his own log cabin 
could be built. This was put up on the slope of the hill, on 
the church land, which was about two miles from the chief 
M'Guire farm and was made of round logs. . . . With 
uncontrollable eagerness he watched the progress of the log 
church, which fast took size and shape under the strong and 
willing arms of his parishioners, his own inspirations and gen- 
erosity. As soon as the harvest was gathered he gave em- 
ployment to them all upon the church, and even had the 
women employed in making a great number of candles for it, 
and on Christmas eve of that year it was finished, placed 
under the protection of St. Michael, and ready for midnight 
Mass, the only house of God from Lancaster to St. Louis. 
. . . He had instructed the men to bring in branches of 
the beautiful evergreen trees, which grew thick upon the 
mountains and at their very doors ; the women set their can- 
dles amongst the dark green foliage covering the rude walls ; 
and just at midnight, when the people who had gathered from 
immense distances through the wilderness of snow were 
hushed in rapt expectation, he came out upon the altar, with 
all the ceremony of the grandest Cathedral, and intoned the 
Mass." ^ 

Writing to the Bishop under date of February 9th, 1800, 
he says : " Our church, which was only begun in harvest, got 
finished for service the night before Christmas ; it is about 44 
feet long by 25, built of Avhite pine logs, with a very good 
shingle roof. I kept service in it at Christmas for the first 
time, to the very great satisfaction of the whole congregation, 
who seemed very much moved at a sight which they never 
beheld before. There is also a house built for me, 16 feet by 
14, besides a httle kitchen and a stable. I have now, thanks 
be to God, a little home of my own, for the first time since I 

*Life, etc., pp. iig, 120. 



THE FIRST MASS, 



295 



came to this country, and God grant that I may be able to 
keep it. The prospect of forming- a lasting establishment for 
promoting the cause of religion is very great ; the country is 
amazing fertile, almost entirely inhabited by Roman Catho- 
lics, and so advantageously situated with regard to market 
that there is no doubt but it will be a place of refuge for a 
great many Catholics ; a great many have bought property 
there in the course of these three months past, and a great 
many more are expected. The congregation consists at pres- 
ent of about forty families, but there is no end to the Catho- 
lics in all the settlements round about me ; what will become 
of them all, if we do not soon receive a new supply of priests, 
I do not know. I try as much as I can to persuade them to 
settle around me." 

In this extract we perceive the enthusiasm with which he 
burned to found a Catholic colony, and the little account he 
made of the many and great obstacles which stood in his way. 
The statement of his biographer that his was the only church 
from Lancaster to St. Louis is true as far at least as relates to 
this State ; for although a church was commenced at Greens- 
burg in the spring of 1790, it was never finished,"^ as we shall 
see in its proper place. That his midnight Mass was the first 
celebrated west of the Allegheny Mountains, as is represented 
by some writers, is undoubtedly incorrect; for other priests 
had visited the mountains, as we have seen, before Dr. Gallit- 
zin came ; and besides, would he abstain from celebrating 
Mass during the time in which the church was being built? 
The first Mass celebrated west of the mountains, with the ex- 
ception of those at Fort Duquesne, was most probably by Rev. 
John B. Causey, in the house of John Propst, ten miles Avest 
of Greensburg, in June, 1789, of which more hereafter, f 

Dr. Gallitzin continued to invite settlers to his colony and 
to supply them with homes on easy terms, waiting until such 
time as they would be able to pay for them. Rev. J. A. Stil- 
lenger, a few years before his death, showed me a large roll of 
papers referring to these lands, and stated that Dr. Gallitzin 

* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, p. 54. 
f Ibid., pp. 49, 50. 



296 DR. GALLITZIN'S ESTATE. 

had bought more than twenty thousand acres of land for the 
settlers. This, although a high figure, is the statement of one 
who was next neighbor to the venerable priest for ten years, 
and was intimately acquainted with the history of the settle- 
ment. These mountain lands were owned by wealthy persons 
in the eastern cities, who had bought them low with a view 
of speculating, and who were willing to sell on time provided 
they had proper security. Although a princely estate would 
seem to be sufficient, the poor priest was often forced to claim 
the indulgence of his creditors. We shall see that in his ex- 
pectation of realizing from his inherited estate he was doomed 
to cruel disappointment. He was naturalized and became a 
citizen of the United States in 1802. In May 6th, 1803, his 
father died suddenly at Brunswick, in Saxony, and it was 
thought advisable for him to cross to Europe to look after the 
estate. But he preferred to remain w^ith his people. "Im- 
mediately upon the prince's death, his relatives in Russia took 
possession of his estates as his heirs, considering Mitri as 
thrown out altogether on account of his profession, as the 
prince had always expected ; the Princess Mimi was by the 
laws of Russia only entitled to one fourteenth of the real 
estate and to one eighth of the personal property. By the 
advice of his mother, Father Gallitzin appointed Baron von 
Fuerstenberg, Count Frederic Leopold von Stolberg, and 
Count Clement Augustus von Merveldt, his agents, w4th full 
power of attorney to bring a suit against his relatives Avho 
claimed the estates, while the princess took every possible 
step to secure the property for him, or, if that could not be, 
for herself, through her marriage contract, which resulted in 
an expensive litigation, of which Father Gallitzin from time to 
time received some reports." ^ 

His estates, as valued by these three noblemen, consisted, 
as Father Heyden tells us : " ist. Of seventy thousand rubles 
in money ; and 2d. In real property the village of Lankoff, in 
the government of Wadalmir, and the villages of Fabanzin 
and Mikulskin, in the government of Kostrom, with all the 

* Life, etc., pp, 157, 158. 



HE BUILDS A MILL, 297 

lands, mills, and other property thereto belonging, with one 
thousand two hundred and sixty male subjects." * 

But the settlement of these claims required time, and how- 
ever sanguine the good man may have been of success, his 
mind became a prey to apprehensions which the impatience 
of some of his creditors was too well calculated to keep vivid- 
ly before him. But we must not forget that he was a mis- 
sionary in the wilds, and, although the temporalities of his 
colony claimed a great part of his time and attention, the care 
of the souls of his people received still more. From his 
mountain home there was no priest in the west nearer than 
Sportsman's Hall, nor in the east nearer than Conewago, 
while to the north and south there was none in the State, nor 
for a great distance beyond its boundaries. Nor was his posi- 
tion similar to that of the other missionaries. The whole 
settlement was in a measure the work of his hands ; to him it 
owed not merely its spiritual but also its temporal existence ; 
and he was both its prince and priest. 

Some years after the erection of his humble residence, 
described above, he built a larger one of hewn logs adjoining 
it. He also put up a mill worked by two horses to grind the 
grain of the settlers ; but as it was found to be too expensive, 
it was afterwards replaced by one run by water. * And the 
visitor to Loretto, as he enters the town from the east, may see 
the remains of the old mill in the shape of a broken wheel or 
two in a field near the brook. While teaching at St. Francis' 
College, in the village, in the fall of 1869, I visited the old 
mill, then entirely fallen to ruins ; but at present nothing of the 
building remains. A part of his own land he laid out into a 
village in the year 1803, and named it Loretto, out of his 
devotion to the august Mother of God. At the time of his 
death, 1840, it contained but 150 souls; and in 1870 the popu- 
•lation had increased to only 280. It is situated about four and 
a half miles northwest of Cresson Station on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, which is one hundred and two miles by the road 
from Pittsburg ; but by an air line the village is but seventy- 

* A Memoir on the Life and Character of Rev. Prince Demetrius A. de Gallit- 
zin, etc., p. 50. 



298 LORETTO. 

two miles east of that city. The village is built on a rising- 
ground which falls gently to the east and south, and is longer 
from east to west than it is in the opposite direction. The 
principal street in the former direction is St. Mary's, which is 
but a part of the pubhc road with board sidewalks, after the 
manner of mountain towns and villages. Before you have 
quite entered the village the ruins of the old mill will be seen 
on the left ; a little further on the old pastoral residence ap- 
pears on the right, with the chapel attached to it. Beside this 
is the old frame church — knowm in the different Lives of Gal- 
litzin as the "new church" — but neither it nor the residence 
is now used by the congregation, the former having been re- 
placed by the present church, and the latter by the pastoral 
residence lately built. A little further on, as the road winds 
gently to the right, on the same side, is St. Aloysius' Academy 
for young ladies and the girls' parish school, both in a hand- 
some brick building under the care of the Sisters of Mercy. 
The road, or St. Mary's Street, as it now becomes, resumes a 
direct course, and you enter the village having the large brick 
church with the tomb of the Apostle of the Alleghanies in 
front of it on 3'Our right. But more of all these hereafter. 
Parallel with this street and on the left of it runs St. Joseph's. 
St. Peter's crosses these about the middle of the village, and, 
after descending to the west to cross a little brook, rises to 
the level of the village and leaves you at the gate of St. 
Francis' Monastery and College. When I was at the college 
in 1869, the village was wholly Catholic with the exception of 
one Jewish family and a Protestant woman whose husband 
was of the frue faith ; and the same, I beheve, is true to-day. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CAMBRIA COUNTY (CONTINUED). 

Dr Gallitzin as a land agent — as a pastor —Regulations for Mass, etc. — Sermons — 
Troubles — Death of the Princess Gallitzin — Wolves in sheep's clothing — 
Settlement of the litigations regarding his estate — Gradual extension of the 
colony — Bishop Egan visits Loretto - Dr Gallitzin as a writer —A new 
church — Scanty remittances from his estate — He asks aid from his friends — 
The crisis — Relief — The little chapel— Bishop Kenrick of Philadelphia — Rev. 
Henry Lemcke arrives at Loretto -Sunday at Loretto — Fr. Lemcke at 
Ebensburg— Other writings of Dr. Gallitzin — The end approaching — Last ill- 
ness — Death of Dr. Gallitzin — Remarks on the Loretto settlement — Church 
property — Dr. Gallitzin's successors. 

When Cambria County was laid out — March 26th, 1804 
— Dr. Gallitzin used his influence to have Loretto made the 
seat of justice, but Ebensburg was finally selected as being 
more central. " The formation of the new county," says Miss 
Brownson, " threw increased business into Father Gallitzin's 
hands , he was agent of several firms in Philadelphia and 
other large cities for the sale of lands in Western Pennsyl- 
vania, and there was an endless amount of papers to be drawn 
up, registered, and attended to in regard to it, even of that 
kind known as ejectments, leading sometimes to lawsuits, for 
there were not lacking swindlers and impostors to take ad- 
vantage of his well-known charity, obtain land from him for a 
trifle and on credit, and sell it again at a good profit, or occu- 
pying it to the annoyance of their peaceable and orderly 
neighbors, without any intention of ever paymg for it. And he 
was not one to be imposed upon with impunity at any time, 
least of all when he no longer regarded himself as his own 
property, but as the servant of the poor, the agent of the 
Lord in a noble work. He was as swift and keen in justice as 
in charity, and the more so that he knew the full danger of 



300 RULES AND REGULATIONS. 

establishing precedents or giving dishonesty of any kind the 
sUghtest foothold in the new county. The temporal interests 
of his settlement required him to attend the courts in other 
counties and to make long journeys to Greensburg, in West- 
moreland, and even to Lancaster, frequently necessary, which, 
in addition to the increased missions he had to attend in the 
discharge of his spiritual duties, kept him constantly mov- 
ing."* Of his immediate relations with his people, the same 
writer adds: "He had his rules for all spiritual exercises as 
clear, distinct, and unalterable as the famous laws of the 
Medes and Persians. Everything with him was exact, pre- 
cise to the minute, and this not only from habit, from long 
training, but of very necessity for his own time as well as for 
their discipline and order. When it dre w near the time for Mass 
on Sunday, he would come from his house to the church, the 
long train of his cassock thrown over his arm, passing with 
his pecuhar rapid step from group to group of the men 
gathered on the church grounds, talking together before 
Mass, while the women were devoutly saying their prayers. 
. . In the church there were no pews nor benches ; 
the utmost ever allowed in it consisted of two or three stools, 
for the use of several very aged persons who came there ; the 
children knelt in front, by the altar rails ; the women were 
placed on one side, the men on the other, with a narrow 
passage between them, which neither ever ventured to de- 
crease. All superfluous dress had to be left behind, and at 
the church door every woman, young or old, was required 
to take off her bonnet and put a kind of handkerchief 
over her head. The slightest impropriety in dress — and the 
fashions of the day admitted plenty of it — was so well known 
to be hateful to him that if brought there it would be sure 
to be considered as a defiance of his admonitions, an insult to 
the house of God, and bring upon its wearer a scathing re- 
buke. As much as Father Gallitzin hated meanness in a man 
he despised coquetry in a woman — not that pleasant sparkle 
which comes with good health and a clear conscience, for he 
liked that within reasonable limits, but whatever showed 

* Life, etc., p. i66. 



SUNDA V ROUTINE. 



301 



itself in the lowering of the immortal to give precedence to 
that which perishes was to him a crime and a folly for which 
no denunciation could be too severe. He knew, also, the 
poverty of the generality of the people, and was careful that 
there should be no extravagance, no rivalry, no room for 
envy, by permitting even those whose circumstances would 
perhaps have admitted some display to make any beyond the 
means of the simplest and poorest, and so clearly did he make 
all feel that they were alike children of God, so well did he 
know the right word to say in confession, that to a stranger 
looking over the congregation they would have appeared as 
children of one father, dressed with different tastes, it is true, 
but with equal plainness. Father Gallitzin dreaded the ad- 
vent of finery into the settlement as he would the small-pox 
or cholera, especiall}^ as there is no known remedy for the 
diseases it brings." To this picture of the rule of the zealous 
missionary is added the following account of his manner in 
the matter of hearing Mass, both of which are amply con- 
firmed by tradition. " When the greetings outside the church 
door were all made, or whenever the moment arrived for 
the people to enter, he left them, and when later there was a 
gallery for the choir, went upstairs, other times remained at 
the back of the church, while they went in. When all 
was quiet — and that had to be very soon — he would sing 
the Litany, and, that ended, go twice round the outside 
of the church, lest any one might be lingering there instead 
of preparing for Mass inside. Then, in the stillness which he 
insisted upon, every ear would be strained to hear behind 
them that never-to-be-mistaken step, quick but never hurried, 
that marked his progress up the narrow passage, through the 
church to the sanctuary, while every one, however demurely 
kneeling with clasped hands and downcast eyes, knew well 
that his keen glances were piercing to the inmost heart, for 
then it was that the least irregularity of dress or posture was 
made note of. . . . He always preached two sermons at 
Mass, one in English and one in German, neither of which 
was his mother-tongue, for French was the language most 
natural to him ; he spoke English with perfect ease, German 
not so well ; his sermons were plain, but suited to the times, 



302 



DR. GALLITZIN'S MANNER. 



the circumstances, and needs of his people, with which he was 
as familiar as with his own."* In these lengthy extracts we 
have a fair picture of Dr. Gallitzin. He was indeed always 
intent on doing good, but it was in his own way — a way 
which no one dare question or resist. The following passage 
will complete the picture : " It was even true, as began to 
be whispered, that he was arbitrary and capable of terrible 
anger, with a look of fire, a voice of thunder, and a Avill of iron, 
like that grand old Sixtus Quintus who declared : * While I live 
the criminal shall die,' and made the watchword of Rome, 
Sixtus reigns. There are no words fitly to describe his master- 
ing spirit, that never was broken and could not be bent. The 
mere strangers to him and his religion, who strode up to see a 
funeral pass, baptism administered, or a sermon preached, 
who had never bowed at any command, at his word, * Kneel 
down, sir ; take off your hat,' obeyed, powerless to resist, 
while the rapid words were yet on his lips. At other times 
his voice rang out until the very rafters thrilled and trembled ; 
the fast coming words, the cutting sarcasm, the broad, trench- 
ant blows of his doctrinal sermons once heard could never 
be forgotten. Magnificent in his wrath, he seemed born to 
hurl the thunders of the Church at the head of sacrilegious 
kings, and announce the scourging of God to cowering 
nations, and it was felt instinctively there was a power there 
not well to arouse. He was careful to honor the self-respect 
and family reserve which he knew to be a safeguard against 
the petty gossip and scandal which are the bane of all small 
communities, but at the same time in his eyes they were all 
members of one family and he their father, and he would some- 
times speak to all of the errors of one, not indeed personally, 
but too plainly intending only to use it as an illustration and 
a warning to others." f 

But the object of his greatest solicitude Avas the neatness 
of the altar and the good order of the church ; and he could 
truly say with the Psalmist, " The zeal of thy house hath con- 
sumed me," and " I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy 
house." However poor it might be, and it was certainly 

* Life, etc., pp. 16&-170. f Ibid., pp. 183, 184. 



TROUBLE BREWING. 303 

never very rich, it must show at least no sign of neglect. • At 
the door of the chapel to the rear of his residence, framed: and 
hanging in the little vestibule, were the following printed 
rules, which are still there, as I have seen and read them times 
without number: 

" Notice. 

1. Scrape the dirt off your shoes on the iron scraper provided 

for that purpose. 

2. Do not spit on the floor of the chapel. 

3. Do not put your hats and caps on the chapel windows. 

4. Do not rub against the papered walls of the chapel. 

5. Do not put your heels on the washboards. 

6. After coming in at the passage door, shut the door after 

you. 

Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, 

Parish Priest of Loretto'* 

His rigorous enforcement of rules and regulations, as well 
as his credulity — which was one of his few weak points — in 
believing reports made to him, did not fail to make enemies, 
some of whom were persons who were deeply indebted to his 
kindness. When brought face to face with them, his indomita- 
ble will, which always triumphed, frequently embittered their 
feelings. The Bishop, while he sustained the good man, 
counselled prudence and moderation. The first serious 
trouble was in 1804. The Bishop sent a letter bearing date of 
November 30th, of that year, in which he expressed the con- 
fidence he felt in Dr. Gallitzin, and which he commanded to 
be affixed to the doors of the church, hoping thereby to put 
the disturbers at peace. But it was not sufficient to restore 
good feeling. 

The death of the princess, his mother, April 27th, 1806^ 
while it was a great affliction to Dr. Gallitzin, also caused him 
no little anxiety concerning the recovery of his portion of the 
estate. But his sister hastened to relieve his mind by assur- 
ing him that nothing should prevent her from forwarding him 
his part as promptly as it was in her power. Another source 



;o4 



JVOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, 



of affliction was the occasional presence in his flock of a priest 
unworthy of his sacred caUing-. We need not be either sur- 
prised or scandalized at the appearance of such men in the 
early days of our histor}^ The government of the Church 
was not then fully organized ; people were so seldom per- 
mitted to enjoy the consolations of religion that they could 
easily be imposed upon ; the Bishop resided at so great a dis- 
tance, and communication with him was so difficult and re- 
quired so much time, that unworthy priests could pass from 
place to place and impose upon the people with impunity. 
And if out of the twelve wdiom our Saviour himself chose, " one 
was a devil," we need not think it unaccountable that a wolf 
should occasionally appear in sheep's clothing in our day. To 
diie so thoroughly imbued with the ecclesiastical spirit as 
Dr. Gallitzin wasj an occurrence of this kind was peculiar 1}^ 
trying. The divisions caused by one of these reached such a 
pitch that accusations were made to the Bishop against Dr. 
Galhtzin, and at home the zealous missionary was threatened 
with personal violence. Writing of it to the Bishop in a letter 
dated June 20th, 1807, he says among other things : "After 
having tried (in vain) all those means which charity and a 
desire of bringing my enemies to repentance could suggest, 
finding that they wilfully and maliciously persevered, and that 
even coming to church on Sunday and holy days was only a 
cloak to propagate their poison and trying to gain proselytes, 
] publicly excluded them from the benefits of the church ; 
debarred them from polluting the floor of the church, or the 
holy ground on which it stands, with their presence ; I refused 
sprinkling the holy water upon my congregation until those 
ringleaders of rebellion, those forgers of libels against the 
anointed of the Lord, would withdraw. I then commanded 
them by name to leave that church which under divine provi- 
dence I had estabhshed with the sweat of my brow for the 
salvation of souls, and to which they onh^ came for the ruin 
and damnation of their and their neighbors' souls, praying 
God to move their hearts to repentance, and to give them 
grace to re-enter the church at the gate of submission and 
humility. The next day I started for Greensburg ; having 
received information as above, I immediately appHed for two 



EXTENSION OF THE COLONY. 305 

writs of scandal, and had them served as quick as possible, 
which produced a very happy change." From about the 
close of this year the trouble appears to have ceased ; and the 
people from that time forward had a better appreciation of 
what their pastor had done and suffered in their behalf. His 
troubles for the future were to be of a financial character aris- 
ing out of the tardiness with which he received remittances 
from Europe. 

The settlement of the litigation regarding his estate was 
made known to him by his agents in a letter dated Miinster, 
February ist, 1808. The Senate of St. Petersburg decided 
that admission into the priesthood debarred him from inherit- 
ing. The Emperor sanctioned the decision, and gave it the 
force of law. The property reverted to his sister, who, how- 
ever, could sell it. His agents concluded that he had nothing 
to fear, for his sister would pay him his portion, and in this 
opinion he seemed to have found consolation. 

The Loretto colony appears to have had as yet but one 
common centre, although it was increasing in numbers and 
widening in extent ; for the persecutions of which the pastor 
had been the victim served to make him better known, and 
attracted more settlers from the east. The log church was 
now filled to excess, and in 1808 he enlarged and otherwise 
improved it, at his own expense ; for it may be stated here 
once for all that he never received any salary or income from 
the people, but paid out of his own resources the expenses of 
the church as well as the maintenance of his own household. 
In fact, it was his extreme antipathy to the pew-rent system 
that induced him to apply, to the Bishop for permission to 
leave Taney town and come to the mountain, where he could 
mould the affairs of the Church after his own views. The 
colony began to branch out and lay the foundation of other 
congregations that will arrest our attention after a little — 
Ebensburg, Carrolltown, St. Augustine, Wilmore, Summit- 
ville, etc. — but at what precise time stations began to be held 
in these different places, it is now impossible to determine. 
More will be said on the subject under the head of these re- 
spective congregations. In September, 1808, he Avrote to the 
Bishop, asking for a priest to take a part of his territory, and 



3o6 FIRST CONFIRMATION AT LORETTO. 

leave him to labor for the Catholics of Cambria Count}^ 
alone, and to manage the temporalities of Loretto ; but owing 
to the scarcity of priests, that prelate was unable to comply 
with the request. The temporalities gave him no little 
anxiety. His just expectation of receiving aid from Europe 
was constantly doomed to partial, often to total disappoint- 
ment, so that for almost thirty years his mind had but meagre 
repose. 

. He now passed from the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of 
Baltimore to that of the newly appointed Bishop of Phila- 
delphia. His real name also began to be generally known, 
and the confusion consequent on the promiscuous employ- 
ment of the name of Smith and Gallitzin induced him to 
petition the State Legislature, December 5th, 1809, to author- 
ize him to use the name Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, since 
he had been naturalized as Augustine Smith. The petition 
was immediately granted, and the name of Smith, which had 
already begun to lose its hold on the pubhc mind, was soon 
forgotten. 

In the summer of 181 1 the good pastor had the happiness 
of welcoming Bishop Egan, the first incumbent of the new 
See of Philadelphia, to his mountain home. Confirmation 
was then administered for the first time, if not in the entire 
original Diocese of Pittsburg, at least in that portion lying 
west of the mountains. Contrary to the ordinary custom in 
the administration of this sacrament, children were confirmed 
at a tender age. In a small memorandum of Dr. Gallitzin's 
which I have seen, and which contains a list of the persons 
confirmed at this visit, as well as other interesting matters to 
which reference will soon be made, I found the names of in- 
fants of but one year who were then confirmed. Nor was it 
an unwarranted departure from the ordinary custom, for it 
was nineteen 3^ears before Loretto again saw the shadow of a 
mitre. There were one hundred and eighty-five persons con- 
firmed upon this visit. The same memorandum contains a 
list of the Easter communicants for the years 1810, 181 1, and 
18 1 3. The list for 18 10 comprises 219 names, of which 82 are 
men and 137 women; of the latter 68 were married, 5 were 
widows, and 64 unmarried. In 181 1 there were 424 persons. 



DR. GALLITZIN AS A WRITER, 



307 



of whom 171 were men and 253 women; and in 1813 there 
were 555 persons — 203 men, 265 women, 47 boys, and 40 girls. 
One would be led to infer from the names that the Irish ele- 
ment at that time prevailed over the German. But the 
question arises : Over how large a tract of country were 
these Catholics distributed ? For if it embraced all the terri- 
tory under Dr. Gallitzin's jurisdiction at that time, it can 
afford but an imperfect idea of the population of the Lo- 
retto settlement. Be that as it may, this memorandum, as 
well as another to be referred to presently, contains some val- 
uable scraps of information that have evidently escaped the 
notice of all his former biographers. 

Not satisfied with his other duties, which were certainly 
arduous and numerous enough to occupy the time of the 
most zealous priest, Dr. Gallitzin now entered the field as a 
writer, and produced a couple of small works which even in 
our day have a high reputation. They were the instruments 
of numerous conversions, as well as the means of dispelling 
much of the ignorance and consequent bigotry in the public 
mind of that day regarding the religion of which he was the 
illustrious champion. The circumstances which called forth 
these precious volumes were briefly these : Late in the sum- 
mer of 1 8 14, when the British troops were advancing on 
Washington City, President Madison appointed a day of 
public fasting and prayer, in the celebration of which a cer- 
tain Rev. Mr. Johnson, of Huntingdon, preached a sermon, 
in the course of which he indulged in a considerable amount 
of misrepresentation of the Church, from its august head to 
the humblest of its members. The sermon created quite a 
sensation in the mountain country, and when the echo of it 
reached the ears of Dr. Gallitzin he addressed the preacher 
through the Huntingdon Gazette, demanding an apology for 
the insults he had offered to religion. But he elicited no 
reply. He then published several Letters in the same news- 
paper explaining the teaching of the Church and answering 
such of the preacher's arguments as were deserving of atten- 
tion. The Letters attracted great attention, and, being soon 
after published in pamphlet form, went through several 
editions. Later they were amplified and in other respects 



3o8 CONVERSIONS. 

somewhat changed, and then published in their present form 
under the title of '' A Defence of Catholic Principles in a 
Letter to a Protestant Clergyman. By Rev. Demetrius A, 
Gallitzin. i2mo, pp. 174. 1816." His fame as a controversial 
writer was now established, and he is believed to have been 
the first to enter the field of polemics in the American Church. 
Four years later he published another small work, a contin- 
uation of the '' Defence," under the title of " A Letter to a 
Protestant Friend on the Holy Scriptures, etc. Ebensburg. 
Printed by Thos. Foley, 1820. i2mo, pp. 150." The pubhca- 
tion of these works had a marvellous effect in promoting 
conversions among settlers whose hostility to the Church 
arose principally from a misapprehension of her true charac- 
ter, and it was not unusual for the pastor of Loretto to find 
a dozen or more converts stand together in the little chapel 
claiming admission into the one fold. So numerous were the 
applications for a more detailed exposition of the Catholic 
doctrine than was contained in these books that he published 
the following unique notice in the Cambria County Gazette : 

" Notice. . 

" A certain number of Protestants having manifested a 
great desire of becoming members of the Roman Catholic 
Church, I hereby acquaint the said Protestants, and the public 
in general, that I have appointed the second Sunday after 
Easter ( 1 7th April) for admitting them into the Church, accord- 
ing to the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Ritual. 

'' Demetrius A. Gallitzin, 

" Parish Priest. 
''Loretto, March 22, 1825." 

At the end of two 3^ears Mr. Johnson published a reply to 
Dr. Gallitzin's works, entitled " A Vindication of the Reforma- 
tion," which was admitted on all hands to be inferior to the 
works to which it was an answer. The pastor of Loretto 
contented himself Avith publishing " An Appeal to the Pro- 
testant PubHc," in Avhich he showed up the weak points of 
the " Vindication," and exhorted all to seek the truth earnest- 
\y. The only practical result attained by the enemies of the 



LORE T TO AS AN EPISCOPAL SEE. 309 

Church was the awakening- of a spirit of inquiry, which, as 
we have seen, multiplied conversions. 

In 1 8 14 the See of Philadelphia became vacant by the death 
of Bishop Eg-an, and in the following- year Dr. Gallitzin lost 
his most steadfast friend and prudent counsellor by the death 
of Archbishop Carroll. His labors were also increased about 
this time by the construction of the State roads, or turnpikes, 
one of which, known as the northern pike, passed but three 
miles south of Loretto. About the same time he withdrew 
from the Society of St. Sulpice. The feeble health of Father 
O'Brien of Pittsburg, and the death of Father Heilbron of 
Sportsman's Hall, in 18 16, added for a time to his missionary 
duties. But his name had now become famous, and he was 
spoken of as a candidate for the bishopric of Bardstown, Ky.* 
He was afterwards, it appears, actually nominated to the See 
of Detroit.f Bishop Conwell, who had named him Vicar- 
General for the western part of the State soon after his con- 
secration, determined later to nominate him his coadjutor, as 
we learn from a letter of his to Father Heyden of December 
3d, 1827.^ 

But he had hoped to see his beloved Loretto the home of a 
Bishop, as was stated above in the chapter on the erection of 
the See of Pittsburg. Writing to Archbishop Marechal 
under date of October 28th, 1823, he says : 

'* Several years ago I formed a plan for the good of rehgion, 
for the success of which I desire to employ all the means at 
my disposal when the remainder of my debts are paid. It is 
to form a diocese for the western part of Pennsylvania. What 
a consolation for me if I might before I die see this plan car- 
ried out, and Loretto made an episcopal see, where the Bishop 
by means of the lands attached to the bishopric, which are 
very fertile, would be independent, and where with very little 
expense could be erected college, seminary, and all that is re- 
quired for an episcopal establishment ! . . . It could be com- 
menced by estabhshing a Bishop here who would be merely 
Vicarius in Pontificalibiis to the Bishop of Philadelphia, who 
would give great comfort by administering confirmation in 

* Life cf Bishop Flaget, by Rt. Rev. M, J. Spalding, p. 166. 
f Life, etc., pp. 332, 345. if Ibid., p. 364. 



3IO 



FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 



all parts of Western Pennsylvania ; at the death of the Biship 
of Philadelphia two dioceses could be formed." 

About the year 1817, the log-church, which had once been 
enlarged, began to be no longer capable of accommodating 
the constantly increasing congregation. A new one w^as im- 
peratively demanded, and was undertaken. It is a frame 
building standing near the pastoral residence, and is perhaps 
40 by 65 feet. But it has not been used for many years. 

At this time, when the good pastor began to feel a little 
security in his finances, he received intelligence from Europe 
that his sister was married. The result was that he after- 
wards received but a few small remittances from the sale of 
his estates, although large sums were placed in the hands of 
his sister and her husband to be forwarded to him. It is not 
for us to inquire upon whom the blame rests. There was a 
valuable collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, which 
had been left by his mother in the hands of a trusty friend to 
be disposed of for some charitable object, and the custodian, 
judging rightly that it could not be applied to a better end 
than the building up of religion in the New World, sold it to 
Dr. Gallitzin's friend and former schoolmate, the King of the 
Netherlands, for the priest's benefit. But the funds arising 
from the sale, though considerable, were far from liquidating 
his debts ; and when he had done all in his power, he was yet 
forced to apply to wealthy Cathohcs in different places for 
assistance. I have examined a small memorandum-book, the 
companion of the one already referred to, in which are the 
names of a number of contributors, principally citizens of 
Baltimore. The book opens w4th a brief sketch of Dr. Gal- 
litzin's life and the object he had in view in settling at Lo- 
retto, written in his own small but very neat hand. A part, how- 
ever, is erased so as to be utterly illegible. To this is added 
the following valuable letter in very nervous handwriting : 

'^ I hereby earnestly recommend to all charitable persons 
to subscribe such sums as their inclination and ability will 
permit, to second the views detailed in the opposite page by 
the Rev. Demetrius A. Gallitzin. 

'' Ch. Carroll of Carrollton. 

''November 13, 1827." 



THE CRISIS. 



3" 



The venerable signer of the Declaration of American Inde- 
pendence gave an example to others by subscribing one hun- 
dred dollars. The name of Cardinal Capellari, afterwards 
Pope Gregory XVI., also appears as the contributor of two 
hundred dollars. Referrino^ to the Cardinal's letter in which 
his eminence addressed the missionary as Amplitudo Tua, the 
latter playfully remarked that it should have been tenuitas 
tua ; for Dr. Gallitzin was of slender form. But the amount 
raised was not sufficient to meet the urgent demands of the 
moment, and he thought of crossing over to Europe to see 
what he might be able to raise among his numerous and 
wealthy friends there. But the idea was soon abandoned. 
At length the crisis seemed to have been reached, and in 1828 
the miserable log-hut for which he had exchanged a princely 
title and estate was advertised at sheriff's sale. With the 
aid of money collected from the faithful Irish laborers on the 
canal between Johnstown and Blairsville, and from other 
sources, he was enabled to avert the impending calamity; 
and from that time forward his financial condition so far im- 
proved that by the time of his death he was free from 
pecuniary embarrassments. All told he expended about 
$150,000 on the Loretto settlement.* 

In 1832 Dr. Gallitzin built a small chapel to the rear of his 
residence and adjoining it, in which he could offer up the Holy 
Sacrifice on week-days, and where he could be more comfort- 
able in the severe mountain winters than in the church. But 
it is proper to remark that a new residence had by this time 
taken the place of the primeval log-house. In this chapel con- 
fessions were heard on Saturday evenings until the new resi- 
dence was built, as we shall have occasion to observe, a few 
years ago ; and I have both frequently heard in the same con- 
fessional which the illustrious missionary used, and said Mass 
at the same altar before which he so often stood. 

The nomination of Rev. F. P. Kenrick as coadjutor to the 
aged and infirm Bishop Conwell of Philadelphia was not in 
harmony with Dr. Gallitzin's views, and he accordingly wrote 
the newly appointed prelate a very plain and strong though 

* Memoir, etc., by Very Rev. Thos. Heyden, p. 92. 



312 



RE V. HENR Y LEMCKE. 



respectful letter on the subject. The course pursued by the 
Bishop in reference to certain irregularities in one or two con- 
gregations was so far out of harmony with the good mission- 
ary's ideas that he resigned the vicar-generalship in a character- 
istic letter. Bishop Kenrick visited Loretto early in the fall 
of 1830, and administered confirmation to five hundred persons, 
expressing himself much edified with the piety of the people 
and the able and skilful administration of the pastor. 

In September, 1834, a priest entered upon the mountain 
mission who is deserving of special mention. Rev. Henry 
Lemcke was born in Rhema, in the territory of Mechlenburg, 
Prussia, July 27th, 1796. He entered the army at an early 
age, and was at the battle of Waterloo. Leaving the army he 
became a Lutheran preacher ; but being soon after converted, 
he began a course of study for the priesthood, to which he was 
ordained on the i ith of April, 1825. He came to this country 
in 1834, and was placed in charge of a German congregation 
in Philadelphia. He w^as desirous, however, of exchanging it 
for some other, when he accidentally learned that Prince Gal- 
litzin was a priest on the American mission. He came West, 
as we shall presently see ; was the intimate friend of the prince, 
succeeded him at Loretto, and gained possession of all the 
papers left by the illustrious missionary. After remaining 
about six years longer in Cambria County, he was transferred 
to the eastern part of the State upon the arrival of the Bene^ 
dictme Order at Carrolltown, in 1846. He became a member 
of the order in 1851, and two years later made his solemn 
vows."^ " It was the doctor's custom," he says, in the work 
about to be referred to, " to preserve not merely all the letters 
he received, but copies of all he wrote, if of the least impor- 
tance ; more than this, he kept every paper in which there w^as 
any notice of events, even the most ordinary, which had any 
interest for him ; m a large chest there were papers and letters 
of every description, from the memoirs of his mother to his 
last tailor's bill; notice from the princess to his tutors, to her 
children; in a word, the accumulation of half a century." f 



* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, p. 347. 
f Leben und Wirken, etc., p. 11. 



ARRIVAL OF FR. LEMCKE. 313 

From these and personal recollection Fr. Lemcke composed 
his " Leben und Wirken des Prinzen Demetrius Augustin 
Gallitzin," which upon a subsequent visit to Europe he had 
printed at Miinster in 1861. The past few years of his life, 
until recently, were spent at the priory of his order at Newark, 
N. J., but he has been for some time with the Benedictine 
fathers in the western part of Pennsylvania. He is hale and 
active, and has an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes relating to 
all the varied scenes through which he has passed in his event- 
ful career, which he loves to recount in his inimitable style. 
He is at present engaged in preparing an autobiography, 
which will be a valuable addition to the history of the Diocese 
of Pittsburg."^ Having introduced the reader to the venerable 
priest, we shall return to the year 1834, leaving him to tell the 
story of his coming to Loretto in his own picturesque style. 
The passage is translated, with some omissions, from his 
" Leben und Wirken." 

'^ I had before this somewhere read a biography of Prin- 
cess Gallitzin, and gathered from it that she had a son, a 
Catholic missionary in America, but no one could give any 
information concerning him. At last I asked the Bishop. 
' He is at Loretto,' was the answer, ' in Western Pennsylvania, 
in this diocese.' ' Is he then still living ? * ' Certainly, but he 
is old and delicate, greatly in need of assistance in his wide- 
spread congregation. As you desire to be removed from 
here, and I have now a German priest to take your place, 
you can go to him. But he is a singular old saint ; many 
others have tried to live with him, but it seems as if no one 
could get along with him.' I consented to go, and as soon as 

* In the summer of 1879 he commenced the publication of the work in the 
columns of the Northern Cambria News, a weekly newspaper published at Carroll- 
town, where the venerable missionary is now stopping. The work is entitled 
"Cambria County in the Olden Time, embracing the Life of the Prince, Priest, 
and Missionary, D. A. Gallitzin, and also an Autobiography of the Writer, Rev. 
Henry Lemcke." It was the intention to publish it afterwards in book form ; 
but when it had continued about six months, and had brought the life of the author 
down to the year 1855, it was unexpectedly discontinued for the present, Novem- 
ber 22d, 1879. It is much to be regretted that the work, although containing 
valuable information, should be disfigured by certain strictures on two prelates 
who have always been regarded throughout the country as models of learning, 
prudence, and piety. 



314 



HE MEETS DR. GALLITZIN. 



I could, set out on my journey. . . . . I arrived at last in 
safety at Munster, a little village laid out by Irish people on 
a table-land of the Allegheny Mountains, only four miles from 
Gallitzin's residence. The stage stopped at the house of a 
certain Peter Collins, a genuine Irishman, who kept the post- 
office and hotel. . . . The next morning — for it was even- 
ing when I arrived, and they would not on any account let 
me go on — a horse was saddled for me, and Thomas, one of 
the numerous Collins children, stood ready to show me the 
way and to bring back the horse. . . . We had gone but 
a mile or two in the woods when I saw a sled coming drawn 
by two strong horses (N. B. In September, in the most beau- 
tiful summer weather). In the sled half sat and half reclined 
a venerable-looking man in an old, much worn overcoat, 
wearing a peasant's hat which no one, it is likely, would have 
cared to pick up in the street, and carrying a book in his 
hand. I thought, seeing him brought along in this way, that 
there must have been an accident, that perhaps the old gen- 
tleman had dislocated a limb in the woods ; but Thomas, who 
had been on ahead, came running back and said, ' There comes 
the priest! pointing to the man in the sled. I rode up and 
asked, ' Are you really the pastor of Loretto ? ' ' Yes, I am 
he.' ' Prince Gallitzin ? ' 'At 3'our service, sir. I am that 
very exalted personage.' Saying this he laughed heartily. 
' You may perhaps wonder,' he continued, M^hen I had pre- 
sented him a letter from the Bishop of Philadelphia, ' at my 
singular retinue. But how can it be helped ? We have not 
as yet, as you may see, roads fit for wagons — we should be 
either fast or upset ever}^ moment. I can no longer ride on 
horseback, having injured myself by a fall, and it is also 
coming hard with me to walk ; besides, I have all the require- 
ments for Mass to take with me. I am now on my way to a 
place where I have had for some years a station. You can 
now go on quietly to Loretto and make yourself comfortable 
there : I shall be at home this evening ; or if you like better, 
you can come with me : perhaps it may interest you.' I chose 
to accompany him, and after riding some miles through the 
woods we reached a genuine Pennsylvania farm-house [prob- 
ably at Summitville, soon to be noticed]. 



MASS IN THE BACKWOODS. 315 

'' Here lived Josua Parish, one of the first settlers of that 
country, and the ancestor of a numerous posterity. The Catho- 
lics of the neighborhood, men, w.omen, and children, were al- 
ready assembled in great numbers around the house, in which 
an altar was put up, its principal materials having been taken 
from the sled ; Gallitzin then sat down in one corner of the 
house to hear confessions, and I, in another corner, attended 
to a few Germans. The whole affair appeared very strange to 
me, but it was extremely touching to see the simple peasant 
home, with all its house furniture and the great fireplace, 
in which there was roasting and boiling going on at the 
same time, changed into a church, while the people, with 
their prayer-books and their reverential manners, stood or 
knelt under the low projecting roof or under trees, going in 
and out just as their turn came for confession. After Mass, 
at which Father Gallitzin preached, and when a few children 
had been baptized, the altar was taken away and the dinner- 
table set in its place. It was, of course, too small, but it was 
understood to remedy this evil for one party to sit down after 
another party had dined, the children meanwhile standing 
about in the corners with their hands full, while the mother 
and daughters of the house went back and forth, replenishing 
the empty dishes from the pots in the fireplace, and pressing 
the food upon their guests. In a word, all was so pleasant 
and friendly that involuntarily the love-feasts of the first 
Christians came to my mind. In the afternoon we went 
slowly on our way, Gallitzin in his sled and I on horseback, 
arriving at nightfall at Loretto. . . . 

" In the evening we had much to talk about. Forty-two 
years had already passed since Gallitzin had left Germany, 
and in that time how much had happened! . . . And 
while all this was passing, this man, destined by his birth as 
well as his talents to play a grand role in the world's theatre; had 
been announcing in the Allegheny Mountains the kingdom of 
the Prince of Peace. . . . While we were thus deeply 
engaged in conversation it grew very late, and then I saw an 
illustration of old-time Catholic discipline and home regularity. 
One of the old women, of whom there were several living in 
the house, put her head in the doorway, asking if there would 



3i6 DR. GALLITZIN AT HOME. 

be prayers that night. ' Certainly,' said Dr. Gallitzin, rising 
at once, and a signal being given, the household came to- 
gether. The old nobleman knelt without any ceremony near 
the table by which he had been sitting, took his rosary from 
his pocket and began it. After the prayers were over he 
took his breviary, I did the same ; the house was as quiet as 
a monastery. When I left my room the next morning I met 
the prince with his arms full of wood, intending to make a 
fire, as it had grown quite cold during the night. Afterwards 
when I went to the chapel to say Mass, he insisted upon 
serving me." 

To this graphic picture of the early missionary life and 
customs of the pioneer priests. Father Lemcke adds the 
following on the Doctor's Sunday routine, which will be no 
less interesting : 

" The next day was Sunday. The people began to come 
very early in the morning, from all directions, to go to con- 
fession. At ten o'clock I celebrated High Mass, at which the 
organ was played, and there was some pretty good singing. 
After the gospel the old pastor stepped quickly towards me at 
the altar, put me to one side, and began to preach, of course 
in English, of which I understood but little. As well as I 
could make it out it was strong against pride and vanit3^ 
Nothing in the world excited the humble man more than to 
perceive any luxury, love of finery, or new fashions creeping 
in among his children, though I must admit there was scarcely 
ten dollars' worth of superfluities and luxuries to be seen in the 
entire congregation ; what special thing had just then aroused 
him I could not tell. Perhaps it was that at this time the first 
modern carriage made its appearance at the door of the 
Loretto church ; for a man of the neighborhood who had 
grown rich, and now and then went to Philadelphia on busi- 
ness, had brought back with him a ver}^ fine carriage, in 
which with his family, all adorned to suit, he drove to church 
on Sundays, creating a great sensation. At the time the 
marvel was expected to make its appearance, the boys would 
climb the trees and fences, keeping their eyes fixed in the 
direction from which it would probably come ; in a word, it 
was like the Indians on the upper Missouri when the first 
steamboat was seen. 



PREACHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 



317 



" When Gallitzin had finished his English sermon, he began 
another in German, but to me it sounded altogether foreign ; 
it is true he had received a German education, although at 
the time when the influence of the French language was at its 
height, but in his forty-two years in America he had had little 
or no practice in speaking it. . . . He introduced me 
formally to the Germans, who were then pretty numerous, in- 
timating to them that for the future I would attend to them, 
and that I would now preach them a German sermon, which 
they had not heard for a long time. He then moved aside, 
bowing to me with a mischievous smile, as much as to say : 
' I have got through, now it is your turn.' There had been 
nothing of the kind intimated to me previously ; he had merely 
requested me to celebrate High Mass ; there was no alterna- 
tive but for me to preach, more decidedly extempore than 
ever before in my life. When I spoke to him about it later, 
he laughed and said that he wished to know whether I was 
fitted for a missionary, for he would have a treasure in one 
who could at any moment bring out the old and new. 

"■ I lived in the belief that I was now at home with Gallit- 
zin, and made my plans accordingly — how I could live with 
this singular old gentleman, how I would go to work to break 
through the crust which had formed over his noble nature in 
the long battle with an ungrateful and wicked world, and how 
I would win myself a place in his heart. But I found I had 
reckoned without my host. 

" On Monday morning he was ready to start out again ; the 
horses were hitched to the wagon, for now it was to go to 
Ebensburg, the county-town, to which the roads were so good 
that the sled was only required for them in winter-time. We 
stopped at the house of a Mrs. Ivory, who had grown up in 
Gallitzin's house, while her mother and two of her sisters still 
remained with him, keeping house for him. The old gentle- 
man went around all the morning from one house to another, 
and I could not imagine what he had on hand. After dinner 
the matter was explained. He handed me a paper, saying : 
' Here is a list of ths Catholics of the place. Each one of them 
has bound himself by this paper to contribute a certain sum 
annually for your support. There is a little church here, but 



3i8 FJ^. LEMCKE AT EBENSBURG. 

for some time there has been no priest ; the congregation is 
small and hardly able to support one. But you will stay in 
this house ; there are some really pretty rooms upstairs ; Mrs. 
Ivory is a good cook, and will treat you in the best manner 
possible. I will pay the board for you in advance, and in re- 
turn you will come to me once a month to preach to the Ger- 
mans and assist in the confessional ; you will also have to at- 
tend to the stations and sick-calls which I can no longer 
reach.' 'But,' said I, 'what are you thinking of? What 
am I to do here among the English ? for, as far as I can learn, 
there is not a German in the place.' ' That makes no differ- 
ence ; it is all the better for you ; you will then learn English 
nolens volens. You have already made a good beginning, and 
as you by no means appear to have fallen on your head, you 
will soon be able to preach.' ' It may be so, but we can speak 
English in Loretto also, and it would in every way be better 
for me to live with you, and save paying for board.' ' Well, 
you see,' he said, rubbing his nose, as was his way when he 
was embarrassed, ' winter is near, and, as you have observed, 
there is only one room in my house, besides the kitchen, in 
which there is a fireplace.' I could hardly refrain from laughing 
at this, for the Bishop had told mxC he would not let another 
priest live with him, and had arranged his house in a way to 
have a good excuse for declining." Speaking of his appearance 
at that time, he being then in his sixty-fourth year. Father 
Lemcke says : *' When I first saw Gallitzin, he was certainly 
very thin, and his general appearance fragile, but he was erect, 
his walk firm and rapid, his voice loud and sonorous, his look 
keen and decided." 

Just before this time his pen had again been at work. A 
Presbyterian synod was held at Columbia, Pa., toward the 
close of the year 1833, in which the assembly, in the charitable 
language peculiar to that sect when discussing the subject of 
Popery, warned their ministers of the rapid strides it was mak- 
ing in their midst, and in six resolutions labored to enkindle their 
zeal in opposing its further progress. Dr. Gallitzin addressed 
them in '' Six Letters of Advice to the Ger^lemen Presbyterian 
Parsons who lately met at Columbia, Pa., for the purpose of 
Declaring War against the Catholic Church." The first of 



THE '' SIX LETTER Sr 319 

these letters appeared January 14th, 1834, and the others fol- 
lowed weekly in the newspaper in which they were first pub- 
lished. They were afterwards issued in pamphlet form by 
Canan & Scott, Ebensburg, 1834, pp. 28. The letters are writ- 
ten in an easy, almost a playful, but ironical style, and must 
have pierced those to whom they were addressed like an arrow. 
They have long since been out of print, but are given almost 
entire by Miss Brownson — an act for which the Catholic pub- 
lic should be sincerely grateful.* The following will afford an 
idea of the style of the letters. Having stated that he had 
heard of the synod, and having given the preamble and the six 
resolutions, he begins after this manner : 

'' Well done, gentlemen ! Thus you have sounded the 
tocsin of war ; you have drawn the sword, and thrown away 
the scabbard. Like so many heroes you stand in battle array, 
to fight the battles of the Lord against Pope and Popery. 
Fame, which hath already wafted across the Atlantic the ac- 
count of your heroic deeds during the ravages of the cholera, 
will bring your declaration of war to Rome, and fill the Pope 
and his cardinals with terror and dismay. 

" But now, gentlemen, let me tell you it is not sufficient to 
know how to declare war ; you ought also to know how to 
carry it on ; and as I am somewhat acquainted with military 
tactics (having formerly held a commission in the Russian 
army), charity impels me to assist you with my advice. 

'^ To secure a little respect for my advice, I wish you to 
observe: ist. That I am in my sixty-fourth year; 2dly. That 
I was educated in the Greek Protestant Church, the members 
of which bear a greater hatred to the Pope than ever you did ; 
3dly. That I am now and since the year 1795 have been a 
minister of that religion which you very gentlemanly desig- 
nate by the nickname of Romanism or Popery, and which I call 
the Roman Catholic Church, alias the Church of Jesus Christ. 

"■ From the premises the conclusion is rational that, know- 
ing both sides of the question, I ought to be tolerably well 
qualified to advise you how to carry on a war successfully 
against the Pope." 

* Life, etc., pp. 407, 409 et seq. 



320 



THE END APPROACHING. 



But the veteran missionary's career was fast drawing" to a 
close. He had found a wilderness and made of it a flourishing 
Catholic settlement, with all that was necessary for its perma- 
nence and future development. Its ramifications had ex- 
tended many miles in almost every direction, and had become 
either new congregations or the nucleuses of new congrega- 
tions to be organized at no distant da}^ His financial difficul- 
ties, which were one of the heaviest crosses that he had been 
called upon by his Master to carry, and one peculiarl}^ galling to 
a person of his refined feelings and high sense of honor, were 
now things of the past. Troubles from false brethren v/ere 
now happily adjusted ; and after a life stormy in its own way 
there succeeded the calm which his soul desired before its 
departure. But even in his old age Dr. Gallitzin did not give 
himself up to repose. His labors ceased only with his hfe. 
We have seen that when no longer able to ride on horseback 
he visited his stations on a sled, for better conveyance he had 
none. 

It was the autumn of 1839. ''^^^ the winter following," 
says Miss Brownson — " a very severe one, it was noticed, with 
forebodings, instantly repressed as too painful for considera- 
tion, that he no longer carried himself as formerly, that the 
once ringing step all knew so well was at times slow and un- 
certain — his voice failed him in preaching, and in his exhorta- 
tions tears would fall from the beautiful eyes which once 
flashed accompa,niment to his thrilling words — tears and a look 
more touching than the most powerful sermon of his youth. 
'Sometimes in the course of these sermons,' one who heard 
him relates,^ ' he became truly eloquent. At such times he 
would lean forward a little, his face would light up, and his 
eyes shine with heavenly radiance ; but this would last only a 
few minutes, being repressed as soon as he perceived it, as if 
it were against his calmer judgment, and after a few sentences 
he would resume his com^ersational tone ; his sermons, if such 
the}^ could be called, did not last quite thirty minutes.' Those 
who observed him closely or saw him but seldom could not 
doubt that he who had never cared for the world was now 

* Father Lemcke, Leben und Wirken, p. 356. 



THE CLOSING SCENE. 



321 



more than ever detached from it, that he who had waited so 
long for heaven was looking wistfully to the promised rest. 
. . . The trouble resulting from a fall from his horse one 
night, years before, when returning from a sick-call, which 
had prevented his ever riding again, now assumed a very 
serious form always painful, and at times exceedingly so ; Dr. 
Rodrigue, his physician, — an excellent one, — his friends, his 
brother priests urged him to rest, but as long as it pleased his 
Master to leave him at his post he refused to consider himself 
incompetent to fulfil its duties, let the result be what it would ; 
all they could say was met by a smile that tenderly acknowl- 
edged their solicitude, but put aside all hope of comphance 
with their wishes." * His physician urged him to remain in 
his room, but could not prevail on him to comply with his ad- 
vice. '' He went through all the services of Holy Week, 
heard confessions for half a day at a time, at what cost can 
never be told. Early Easter morning (April 19th) he was in 
the confessional again, but was so exhausted by ten o'clock 
that he could only say a low Mass, and give a short exhorta- 
tion on the Resurrection, which he ended with the words 
spoken on the cross : ' It is consummated' They were the last 
to his congregation." f 

Word was immediately sent to the neighboring priests. 
Father Lemcke, though suffering from an accident, had him- 
self conveyed to Loretto on a sled, and prepared his venerable 
friend — for he had been his confessor for six years — for the 
operation which his physician deemed it necessary to perform, 
by offering up the Holy Sacrifice in his room immediately 
after midnight, and administering the last sacraments to him. 
" Soon afterwards Dr. Rodrigue performed the operation, 
to which the Doctor submitted with heroic fortitude ; but for 
it the physician had no hope that he could survive the night. 
During the following nights Dr. Rodrigue scarcely left his 
side ; after riding all day to attend to his other patients, he 
would hasten back over the wretched roads to watch all night 
with the dying priest. On the 4th of May (Rev.) Mr. Heyden 
arrived, but the doctor was only able to welcome him with a 

*Life, etc., pp. 434, 435. f Ibid., p. 436. 



322 DEATH OF DR. GALLITZIN, 

faint smile and a few whispered, broken words. ... So 
he lay there resting until the evening of (Wednesday) the 6th 
of May, between six and seven o'clock. When the hour came 
for the laborers to go home from their work, they saw that he 
was going too. Mr. Heyden read the prayers for the dying, 
the room-doors were opened, the crowds in the house and 
chapel prayed with tears and sobs, and in a few minutes, 
without any perceptible sign, all was over, the heavens were 
open, all their joy-bells were ringing a welcoming peal ; he had 
gone home to his own country." "^ 

It is impossible to describe the impression which the news 
of the death of the venerable man everywhere created. His 
own flock were inconsolable, and as they pressed around the 
casket containing the remains of their good pastor, their grief 
knew no bounds. 

It was his wish to be buried between his house and 
the church, which stood but a few yards from it; but, in 
order to satisfy the devotion of the people who were anxious 
to take part in bearing his remains to their last resting-place, 
the funeral procession moved through the principal streets of 
the village before the interment. The solemn Mass of requiem 
was celebrated by Father Heyden, who also delivered the 
funeral oration in English, after which Father Lemcke ad- 
dressed the congregation in German. But the resting-place 
selected was not to be permanent. He had long wished to 
build a large church in the village, and had set apart a number 
of lots for that purpose. In front of it was to be the place of 
his final repose. The work was left to other hands, as will 
soon appear, and when the church was completed, about 
eleven years later, a monument of " shapeless sculpture," al- 
together unworthy the noble founder of the colony, was 
erected in front of the sacred edifice. Thither the remains 
were transferred with great pomp, and were deposited in the 
vault prepared for their reception ; and there the coffin, en- 
closed in its zinc case, reposes on a stone on the middle of 
the floor of the cellar-like vault under the monument, as I 

* Life, etc., pp. 437, 438. 



HIS FINAL RESTING-PLACE. 323 

have seen it. On the monument is the following inscription, 
composed by Archbishop Kenrick of Baltimore : 

Sacrum Memorise 

Dem. a. e Principibus Gallitzin, 

nat. XXII Decemb. A.D. MDCCLXX, 

qui Schismate ejurato ad 
Sacerdotium evectus, Sacro Ministerio 

per tot. banc reg. perfunctus. 

Fide, Zelo, Charitate insignis, heic obiit 

die VI Mai, A.D. MDCCCXL. 



Sacred to the Memory of 

Dem. a., Prince of Gallitzin, 

born December 22, 1770, 

who having renounced Schism was raised to the Priesthood, 

exercised the Sacred Ministry through the whole of this region, 

and, distinguished for faith, zeal, charity, 

died May 6, 1840. 

The question of erecting- a more fitting testimonial to the 
memory of one who, renouncing the brilliant prospects which 
the world presented to him, planted the colony, gave away 
much of the land to its members for nothing, or for promises 
worth nothing, who fed its poor, and devoted his days and 
nights, his youth and old age, to the welfare of its people, 
from whom he never asked nor received any compensation 
whatever, has been frequently mooted, but has been permitted 
to fall ineffectually to the ground. 

Different opinions may be formed regarding the prudence 
of Dr. Gallitzin's course in founding a colony on the summit 
of the Allegheny Mountains ; but in our day there are few 
who would consider the choice a happy one. The summer 
season is much shorter and the winter longer and more severe 
than in the lower country ; while the soil is surpassed in fer- 
tility by that of almost every other part of the dioceses, except 
the mountain districts. Allowance must, however, be made 
for the imperfect knowledge people had at that early da}^ of 
the relative advantages of different localities. Nor should we 
lose sight of the object which Dr. Gallitzin proposed to him- 
self, that of founding an exclusively Catholic settlement, where, 



324 



REMARKS ON THE SETTLEMENT. 



under his immediate direction and control, it would grow up 
free from many of the evils which he was forced to witness 
and lament in other places. The object was a good one and 
much to be desired, but at the same time one which no person 
can hope to attain in a country so enslaved to material pur- 
suits and empty show as ours, and hence his success was but 
partial. He might declaim against extravagant fashions and 
other novelties ; he might lecture those Avho would presume 
to appear in his humble church with the latest Philadelphia 
styles of dress, or who rode to church in a handsome carriage 
instead of a farm-wagon ; but the world will move on in its 
own way despite the efforts of any one man to stay its prog- 
ress. But although he may have erred in expecting to do 
what no man can hope to accomplish in our day, however 
desirable it may be, yet the Church in this part of the country 
owes him a deep debt of gratitude. Through his labors and 
sacrifices he succeeded in making Cambria County largely 
Catholic, and in forming a number of congregations which will 
remain to all fviture time an evidence of his disinterestedness 
and zeal in the cause of the religion for which he renounced 
all that rank and wealth could offer, and to the promotion 
of which he consecrated his whole being and such remnant of 
his vast estates as he was able to recover. Another good 
work he did that must not be overlooked. In the early settle- 
ment of almost every part of this country in which Catholics 
were mingled with Protestants, many lost their faith by con- 
tact with heretics, and more especially by intermarriage with 
them ; and hence it is no exaggeration to say that hundreds of 
thousands have been lost to the Church in this country, and 
families are yet multiplying, and to the end of time will con- 
tinue to multiply, in whose homes, in all human probability, 
the light of the true faith will never shine. Through the 
efforts of Dr. Gallitzin the Church was spared this affliction 
to a great extent, and pioneers wishing to come West were 
not exposed to the danger of doing so at the peril of their 
religion. After making all due allowance for the errors of his 
views or his policy, he is yet entitled to the highest meed of 
praise ; and even the errors into which he may have fallen 



DR. GALLITZIN'S SUCCESSORS. 



325 



were committed in seeking what he took to be the greater 
good for the souls of his people. With him the temporal was 
ever made subservient to the eternal ; and no higher praise 
can be bestowed upon man than to say, what is eminently 
true of Dr. Gallitzin, that in all things he sought '' first the 
kingdom of God and his justice." 

At the time of his death Dr. Gallitzin left about two hun- 
dred acres of land to the church at Loretto ; of which a con- 
siderable part was made over to the Franciscan brothers, 
sometime after their establishment there, in 1847; ^ ^^w acres 
also passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy on their 
coming in 1848 : a part has since been sold as being more 
to the interests of religion, and the remainder is still in the 
possession of the Church. For several years before his death 
the good priest's labors had been confined exclusively to the 
parent church of Loretto. 

Rev, Thos, Heyden, of Bedford, was appointed his suc- 
cessor, but preferring to remain in his former place, he was 
permitted to do so. Father Lemcke was then appointed ; but 
he did not reside at Loretto all the time that he was pastor. 
After presiding over the congregation for about four years, 
he was succeeded by Rev. Hugh P. Gallagher, who remained 
about the same length of time. During his pastorate the 
Franciscan brothers established the mother-house of their 
order in the diocese at Loretto, and soon after opened a col- 
lege, as will be seen more at length in its proper place. 

When Bishop O'Connor visited Loretto in 1847 there were 
2500 souls in the congregation, as he informs us in his Notes. 

Rev. Jas. Gallagher now succeeded to the pastorate. The 
congregation had been gradually increasing, and the church 
was no longer able to accommodate it. To remedy this de- 
fect the present church w^as begun in 185 1, and when finished 
was dedicated by Bishop Neuman, of Philadelphia, on the 
6th of January, 1854. It occupies the spot at the eastern end 
of the village that had been long before set apart for it by 
Dr. GaUitzin. The church is a brick building 130 feet in 
length by 80 in width, and lays little claim to architectural 
style. At first it had a steeple in the centre m front, but the 
mountain storms have long since removed it. The interior is 



326 CHANGE OF PASTORS, 

divided into a nave and side aisles separated by two rows of 
columns ; the ceiling of the nave being that known as the 
tunnel vault, while that of the aisles is flat. There 'are three 
altars. In making his tour through the diocese in the autumn 
of 1853, Cardinal Bedini visited Loretto and the grave of its 
founder. In 1848 the Sisters of Mercy came to the village, 
where a house was built for them, to which they have since 
made considerable additions, and the girls' school was placed 
under their charge, which they have since conducted. They 
soon after opened an academy for young ladies, as will be 
stated more at length hereafter. Some time in the course of 
the following year Father Gallagher was succeeded by Rev. 
W. Pollard, during whose stay the pastoral residence was en- 
larged by an additional story. He was succeeded b}^ Rev. T. 
S. Reynolds in November, 1859. But for several years before 
this time and ever after, the pastor has required the aid of an 
assistant. The latter, however, has usually resided and taught 
at St. Francis' College, assisting at the church on Saturday 
afternoons and Sundays. In the summer of 1868 Father 
Reynolds gave place to Rev. M. J. Mitchell, who remained 
until February, 1870. During the latter half of the year 1869 
the writer of these pages was assistant to the pastor, but re- 
sided at the college. 

Upon the retirement of Father MitchelLRev. E. A. Bush, 
the present pastor, was appointed to the vacant post. Soon 
after his arrival he put the church through a thorough course 
of repairs exteriorly and interiorly, and gave it as good an 
appearance as a building of its singular proportions could 
well be made to bear. In the summer of 1874 he built a neat 
frame pastoral residence near the church, the old one being 
too far distant and out of repair. This, however, being but 
the smaller part of the plan he had formed, he completed it 
in 1879 by building a large brick house in front of it. He 
also restored the proper name, St. Michael's, to the church, 
which had been called St. Mary's, although both its prede- 
cessors had borne the former name. 

St. Michael's is, with the exception of St. Augustine's, the 
largest country congregation in the two dioceses, and will 
number between three and four hundred families. Although 



LORETTO AT THE PRESENT TIME. 



327 



there were originally a large number of Germans, the congre- 
gation may now be regarded as entirely English. The village 
and the surrounding country are almost exclusively Catholic. 
It is not probable that the congregation will undergo any 
considerable change for many years to come. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CAMBRIA COUNTY (CONTINUED). — CONGREGATIONS FORMED 
FROM LORETTO. 

St. Bartholomew's Church, Wilmore — German Church of the Immaculate Con- 
ception, New Germany — St. Aloysius' Church. Summitville — Death and 
sketch of Rev. Thos. M'Cullagh — and of Rev. John Hackett — St. Patrick's 
Church, Gallitzin — St. Augustine's Church, St. Augustine — Death and sketch 
of Rev. Ed. Burns — St. Monica's Church, Chest Springs. 

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH, WILMORE. 

In tracing the history of the congregations formed from 
the original settlement of Loretto, we shall begin with Wil- 
more and form a circle around the parent church. The 
village of Wilmore is situated on the western slope of the 
mountains and on the Pennsylvania Railroad, ninety-two miles 
east of Pittsburg and ten miles south-west of Loretto. In the 
early days of its history it was known by the name of Jeffer- 
son, and it was so designated in the Catholic Directories until 
recently. In 1870 it had a population of 393, which showed a 
trifling decrease in the previous ten years. A few Catholic 
families had settled there before the year 1830, but at what 
precise time Mass was first celebrated in their midst it is im- 
possible to determine. But from that date, and perhaps prior 
to it. Dr. Galhtzin visited them at intervals. Among them 
was a negro family from Maryland by the name of Wilmore, 
from which the place took its name, and in whose house— or, 
more correctly, barn— the priest was accustomed to offer up the 
Holy Sacrifice, when the threshing-floor had been swept and 
the barn-fowls banished out of sight, although not always out 
of hearing. Like the ark of the covenant on the threshing. 
floor of Obed Edom, the temporary altar imparted a benedic- 
tion, and a flourishing congregation came at length into ex- 



ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH. 



329 



istence. After his appointment to Ebensburg- in the latter 
part of 1832, Rev. Jas. Bradley ministered to the little flock 
until he was succeeded, about two years later, by Father 
Lemcke. It continued to be visited either from Loretto or^ 
Ebensburg until the year 1840, when the congregation had 
increased sufficiently to require a church. A small stone one 
was built, and was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick on the occa- 
sion of his first visit, August 22d of that year, under the in- 
vocation of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. From that time it 
was usually visited on one Sunday in the month ; in 1844, from 
Loretto; in 1846, from Summitville ; and after the following 
year from Johnstown. By this time the congregation was large, 
and numbered, as Bishop O'Connor states in his Notes, about 
700 souls. Rev. T. Mullen was at that time pastor of the 
church at Johnstown, and until the close of the year 1853 he 
also ministered to that of Wilmore. Toward the close of this 
period he found it necessary to replace the small church by a 
larger one to accommodate the congregation, now greatly in- 
creased. But before the building was finished he was trans- 
ferred to Allegheny City, and Wilmore, now separated from 
Johnstown, became an independent congregation, with Rev. 
M. J. Mitchell as its first resident pastor. The church was 
dedicated by Bishop O'Connor, May 20th, 1855, although not 
3^et finished in the interior. It is a substantial brick building, 
no feet in length by 55 in width, having a tall spire in the 
centre in front, and is modelled after the Gothic style of archi- 
tecture. Occupying an elevated position to the north of the 
village, it appears to good advantage. Father Mitchell was 
succeeded in September, 1855, by Rev. Thos. Walsh, by w^hom 
the church was finished, the balance of the debt liquidated, 
and a handsome frame pastoral residence built. After having 
ministered to the congregation for six years, he was succeeded, 
in September, 1861, by Rev. John Hackett. The congrega- 
tion had been all this time increasing, thanks to the new life 
inspired into business and agriculture by the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. Father Hackett remained until July, 1868, when 
he was succeeded for a short time by Rev. Peter Hughes, 
upon whose transfer to another field of labor Rev. O. P. Gal- 
lagher was appointed pastor. During his administration he 



330 NEW GERMANY. 

purchased a house in the village with a view of making it a 
convent for a colony of Sisters, whom he hoped to procure to 
take charge of a parish school to be opened. Circumstances, 
•however, were not favorable to the undertaking, and the con- 
gregation, although as yet without a school, still owns the 
house. At the close of 1872, Father Gallagher was succeeded 
by the present pastor. Rev. Henry M'Hugh. The increase 
of the congregation in the last few years is but trifling, if, in- 
deed, it has increased at all ; yet it will number about two 
hundred families, who are all farmers with the exception of a 
few persons living in the village. There are also many persons 
living in the village, employed on the trains of the railroad, 
who add more to the numbers than to the moral tone of the 
congregation. The future of the congregation will, to all 
present appearances, be a very gradual increase. 

GERMAN CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 
NEW GERMANY. 

This church is situated in a country place, about three 
miles west of Wilmore, in the midst of a small German settle- 
ment, and appears to owe its existence to the fact that no 
priest familiar with the German language was stationed at St. 
Bartholomew's Church. From its organization the parish has 
been under the care of the Benedictine fathers, being at one 
time attended from Carrolltown, again from St. Vincent's 
Abbey, and finally from Johnstown. The first church was built 
in the year 1855, and was dedicated, under the title of the Im- 
maculate Conception, by Rev. Clement Staub, O.S.B., on the 
8th of December of that year. From that time the congregation 
has usually been visited on two Sundays in the month. There 
has been perhaps no increase from the beginning, but it was 
in time deemed advisable to replace the old church with a 
better one. It was undertaken, and when built was dedicated 
by the Bishop September i ith, 1864. Little change has marked 
the history of the congregation, except that of late the tide 
has set in against it. For, there being no parish school, the 
young are growing up in a measure ignorant of the parent 
language, and prefer the Enghsh church of Wilmore to their 



SUMMITVILLE. 33 1 

own. When the original founders of the congregation shall 
have passed away, the parish itself, which never numbered 
more perhaps than forty families, will be merged in that of 
Wilmore, and it may safely be predicted that in ten or fifteen 
years the congregation will be a thing of the past. 

ST. ALOYSIUS' CHURCH, SUMMITVILLE. 

Summitville, or '■' the Summit" as it is commonly called, is 
a village on the mountain-top about six miles south-east of 
Loretto, at the point where the northern turnpike crosses the 
mountain. In 1870 it had a population of 177, which showed 
the very moderate increase of one in the preceding ten years. 
The village owes its existence to the traffic on the turnpike, and 
the first settlers appear to have come soon after the thorough- 
fare was opened. Dr. Gallitzin held stations among the people 
from an early day, but the date of his first visit cannot be ascer- 
tained, although it was prior to the year 1830. After the 
arrival of Father Lemcke, the little flock formed a part of his 
extensive field of missionary labor, and until the appointment 
of the first resident pastor it was visited either from Ebens- 
burg or Loretto. 

The erection of the first church — an unassuming frame 
structure — was begun about the year 1838. In 1846 Rev. A. 
P. Gibbs was appointed first pastor ; but in the following year 
appears the name of Rev. P. Duffy, who visited it on two Sun- 
days in the month from Ebensburg. At this time, when 
Bishop O'Connor visited the church and administered con- 
firmation, the congregation, as he states mhis Notes, numbered 
800 souls. To supply the wants of the growing congregation, 
a new church was undertaken about the year 1849 5 but before 
its completion Father Duffy was transferred to another field, 
and the congregation was ministered to occasionally by a 
neighboring priest until the spring of 1850, when Rev. Thos. 
M'Cullagh became pastor. '^ The aspect which affairs pre- 
sented, on his arrival at his new mission, was by no means en- 
couraging. A large brick church and parsonage had been 
commenced by his predecessor, and left in an unfinished state. 
The debts, considering the available resources of the congre- 



332 ST. ALOYSIUS' CHURCH. 

gation, were ver}^ great. Yet many had given already all 
they were able to spare. The walls of the church, raw and 
roofless, had been exposed to all the severities of a winter 
peculiar to that elevated region. Under the continual action 
of frost and rain the brickwork in many places had crumbled 
away, so as to render it necessary to tear down and rebuild a 
great part of the structure."^ But "the work on the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad had already commenced, and the peculiar 
character of the route through Cambria County required for a 
long period a large force of laborers, who were all of that 
class most likely to assist Father M'Cullagh in his emergen- 
cies. Attracted by the prospect of good wages, steady em- 
ployment, and the Catholic character of the neighborhood, 
the railroaders might be counted by hundreds as they clustered 
round the mountain gorges of the Alleghenies, scooping out a 
pathway through the rugged hills, or linking mountain to 
mountain by a solid causeway for the tramp of the iron horse. 
Under the rough exterior of railroaders the}' concealed 
honest and generous hearts ; and out of their hard-won sav- 
ings they were ever ready to contribute to the cause of re- 
ligion with a prompt and liberal hand. Pioneers they were 
in more senses than one ; for they were not only the scouts 
whose presence proclaims the onward march of modern im- 
provement, but the vanguard also of the ancient faith w^here- 
ever they appeared." f 

The inspiring presence and indomitable energy of the new 
pastor infused fresh courage into the congregation ; work was 
resumed on the church with the opening of spring ; but it was 
not ready for dedication until the following year. The solemn 
ceremony was performed by Very Rev. E. M'Mahon, V.G., 
June 20th, 1851. The church is a brick building 100 feet in 
length by 60 in width, without a steeple, and although neat 
and substantial is not remarkable for architectural beauty. 
The house was finished and occupied prior to the completion 
of the church. 

But Father M'Cullagh's labors were not confined to the 

* Reminiscences of the Rev. Thomas M'Cullagh, of the Diocese of Pittsburg, 
by Rev. T. Mullen (New York, 1861), p. 44. 
t Ibid., p. 45. 



" THE CRUSADERr 333 

congregation ; for in addition to his literary pursuits, of 
which mention will presently be made, he had ten or twelve 
miles of the railroad under his jurisdiction, upon which hun- 
dreds of Irish Catholics were employed. A large number 
was also engaged in opening the tunnel through the mountain 
about three miles north of the Summit ; and as they were 
likely to remain for several years, he deemed it expedient to 
build a temporary church for their better accommodation. 
This became the nucleus of the congregation at Gallitzin, that 
is next to engage our attention. 

In 1 85 1 the type and press of a weekly paper were exposed 
for sale ; and after having maturely considered the propriety 
of the movement. Father M'Cullagh and three or four of the 
priests of the mountain district purchased them, and com- 
menced the publication of a weekly Catholic journal under 
the title of The Crusader. The editorial management was 
entrusted to the pastor of the Summit, who, although all 
contributed, was the principal writer. The first number ap- 
peared January ist, 1852 ; and the paper was issued weekly 
until November 24th of the following year, when it was dis- 
continued and the subscription-list transferred to the Pitts- 
burg Catholic. During its brief career the Crusader was 
conducted with ability, and exercised a healthy influence in 
the sphere to which its circulation extended.^ 

In the summer of 1856 Father M'Cullagh was transferred 
to St. Patrick's Church, Pittsburg, and Rev. E. F. Garland, of 
the latter, became pastor of St. Aloysius. During this time 
the diocesan seminary was reopened at the Summit, but was 
transferred a year later to Pittsburg. Immediately after the 
completion and dedication of St. Patrick's Church, August 
15th, 1858, Father M'Cullagh returned to his former charge, 
and Father Garland to his. While in the city his health had 
begun to become impaired, and he retired for a few weeks to 
St. Xavier's Academy, Westmoreland County, to recruit. But 
the relief afforded was only temporary ; his health was per- 
manently impaired, and on his return to the Summit it con- 
tinued to grow worse, until it became evident to all that he 

* Reminiscences, etc., pp. 49-54. 



334 DEATH OF REV. THOMAS M'CULLAGH. 

could not long continue to exercise his sacred functions. He 
contemplated a trip to Lake Superior, but on maturer reflec- 
tion it was abandoned. He preferred to remain at his post, 
until, being entirely exhausted, he was forced to commit his 
flock to another shepherd. Coming to Pittsburg, he entered 
the Mercy Hospital, where he could receive the best care and 
medical treatment. The general debility of which he had 
been complaining during the last two years culminated in 
congestion of the brain. Several days passed without any in- 
dications of immediate danger, during which time he received 
the last sacraments. " On Sunday night he rested well, and 
on Monday morning appeared much refreshed. . . . Soon, 
however, another change occurred, and it was evident his 
last hour was approaching. He now began to sink rapidly, 
and at ten minutes past six, on the afternoon of the same day, 
the 2oth of June, 1859, i^ ^^e thirty-ninth year of his age and 
the sixteenth of his ministry, he expired without a struggle."* 
His remains were convej^ed by the cars to Cresson Station, 
Pennsylvania Railroad, one mile from the Summit, and from 
thence to the church, Avhere, with all the ceremonies of re- 
ligion, they were consigned to their last resting-place in the 
adjacent cemetery. A few years later a tasteful monument 
was erected by the congregation to mark the spot. 

Rev. Thomas M'Cullagh was born at Cranag, parish of 
the Upper Badony, county Tyrone, Ireland, in the latter 
part of October, 18 19. His parents belonged to the middle 
class, and were more remarkable for virtue than for wealth. 
After having studied in the schools of his native place, he en- 
tered Maynooth College. While engaged in the studies nec- 
essary to fit him for the sacred ministry, he pursued other 
branches more remotely connected with it as opportunities 
were offered. I have elsewhere spoken of the manner in 
which certain students of the college, in the fall of 1843, re- 
sponded to the invitation of the newly consecrated Bishop 
O'Connor to labor in his diocese, where, as he told them, *' he 
had no inducements to offer, except plenty of w^ork and little 
for it." Mr. M'CuIlagh sailed for America on the 9th of 

* Reminiscences, etc., p. 60, 



SKETCH OF HIS LIFE, 



335 



November, and arrived in Pittsburg just in time to assist at 
the first Pontifical Mass celebrated in the old church occupied 
by the Germans during the erection of the present St. Philo- 
mena's. '' The wants of the mission, particularly in the coun- 
try around Pittsburg, were at that time very great, and the 
physical strength of the few priests in the city taxed to the 
utmost. However advisable it might be, under ordinary cir- 
cumstances, to allow him to prolong his studies, Mr. M'Cul- 
lagh's services as a priest could no longer be spared. He was 
consequently ordained on the 4th of February, 1844, in the 
old Cathedral, which was afterwards burnt down. His ordi- 
nation was the first cereniony of the kind ever witnessed in 
the Diocese of Pittsburg. Immediately after his ordination 
he took charge of several missions around the city, thus occu- 
pying a post where his zeal was sure almost every day to find 
a fresh field for its exercise. Pittsburg was his head-qiiarters, 
whither he returned, from time to time, to prepare for further 
expeditions. . . . With little relaxation from other labors. 
Father M'Cullagh in 1844 assumed the editorial control of 
the Pittsburg Catholic, the organ of the diocese, and continued 
to discharge the duties connected with this office the greater 
part of the two following years. After his official connection 
with the paper had ceased, he was always a frequent and 
welcome contributor to its columns. 

" During the three years immediately subsequent to Father 
M'Cullagh's ordination, notwithstanding the wants of the dio- 
cese, but few additions could be made to the number of priests 
on the mission ; at last it was re^/lved to open a source whence 
a regular supply could be obtained. In 1847 St. Michael's 
Seminary was established in the house now (1861) occupied 
as a Male Orphan Asylum in Birmingham, and the interests 
of the institution — a most important one for the diocese — en- 
trusted to Father M'Cullagh, who became its first president. 
However advisable it might be for the seminary to enjoy for 
a lengthened period the advantages of his scholarly attain- 
ments and beneficent rule, his health, which at the best was 
never robust, rendered it necessary for him to resign this 
position the following year. He immediately took charge of 
St. Vincent's congregation, Westmoreland County, where he 



336 PASTORS OF ST. ALOYSIUS\ 

hoped to find a region and climate better adapted to the deli- 
cacy of his constitution. St. Xavier's Academy, which was 
then in its infancy and in the immediate neighborhood of St. 
Vincent's, secured his services as chaplain. Though early 
convinced that his health required great care and attention, 
he continued to labor in his new position for the good of re- 
ligion with unabated zeal. Most of the time that he could 
spare from duties connected with St. Vincent's and the 
Academy he devoted to the Catholic settlements in West- 
moreland, and contrived in this way to render good service 
to the interests of religion in the county. When the Academy 
was transferred to its present beautiful site, he fixed his resi- 
dence in its neighborhood and continued his vigilant super- 
vision over its early struggles. . . . While there his 
constitutional delicacy had almost disappeared. The climate, 
the treatment, and congenial pursuits had produced a marked 
change in his whole appearance, and the salient points, the 
only drawback to his otherwise remarkably well-formed 
person, had subsided beneath a compact covering of flesh 
and muscle." "^ 

From St. Xavier's he was transferred, as has been stated, 
to the Summit, where his life was identified with that of the 
congregation. From certain manuscripts left at his death, it 
appears that he had at one time entertained the project of 
editing a monthly periodical, when the appearance of the 
Metropolitan Magazijie induced him to abandon the idea. 

At the death of Father M'Cullagh, Rev. Thos. Ryan w^as 
appointed pastor of St. AloJ^ius and the temporary church 
at the tunnel. At first, like his predecessor, he was alone ; 
but when the latter congregation, now known as St. Patrick's, 
Gallitzin, had increased so as to render it too laborious for 
one priest to minister to both, an assistant was appointed, 
commencing February, 1863. At length it became expedient 
to separate the two congregations and assign to each a resi- 
dent pastor. When this division was made, November loth, 
1869, Father Ryan preferred Gallitzin, and Rev. John Hack- 
ett was transferred from Freeport to the Summit. During 

* Reminiscences, etc., pp. 32-44. 



DEATH OF REV, J. HACKETT. ■^^.l 

all this time the congregation had undergone but Httle 
change ; its increase, if any, had been extremely moderate, 
and it might be said of it more truly perhaps than of any 
other congregation in the diocese that it kept the even tenor 
of its way. At length; however, a change came, and a sor- 
rowful one for the members of St. Aloysius' congregation. 
The good pastor, who had for nine years devoted his undi- 
vided attention to their spiritual welfare, after having gradu- 
ally declined for a few months, although continuing to 
exercise his pastoral functions and to bear his infirmities with 
silent resignation, was taken suddenly ill on Thursday, Octo- 
ber 31st, 1878, and died of cerebro-spinal meningitis on the 
afternoon of November 4th, in the 48th year of his age and 
in the beginning of the 24th year of his ministry. The funeral 
took place from the church, and the remains were laid to rest 
in the adjacent cemetery by the side of those of Father 
M'Cullagh and Rev. Peter Brown, of Johnstown. 

Rev. John Hackett was born in the parish and near the 
town of Connel, in the Diocese of Waterford, Ireland, in the 
year 1830. Having fmished his course of theology in the mis- 
sionary college of All-Hallows, he came to America and to 
the Diocese of Pittsburg, where he was ordained by Bishop 
O'Connor November 25th, 1855. ^t first he ministered to 
the congregation of Temperanceville and Brodhead, and re- 
sided at the Cathedral ; but at the end of about two years he 
was transferred to the church at Latrobe, and thence to 
Cameron Bottom. From there he passed to Wilmore, Sep- 
tember, 1 86 1, and in July, 1868, to Freeport. While there he 
built the little church at Natrona. Finally he was transferred, 
as we have seen, to the Summit, which in the inscrutable de- 
sign of Providence was to be the closing scene of his labors. 
Few priests of the diocese were more highly or justly es- 
teemed than Father Hackett. Unassuming in his manner and 
wholly devoted to the welfare of his people, the affairs of the 
vv^orld made little impression upon him, while the simplicity 
of his character and his eminently clerical bearing endeared 
him to all with whom he came in contact. 

Rev. Thos. Davin, the present pastor of St. Aloysius', suc- 
ceeded Father Hackett. The congregation is composed 



338 GALLITZIN. 

principally of farmers of Irish and German descent with a 
small number of coal-miners, and owing to its scattered char- 
acter has never been able to organize a parish school. It will 
number perhaps a little less than two hundred famiUes, and 
its future career will in all probability be as uneventful as its 
past has been. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, GALLITZIN. 

The village of Gallitzin is situated on the summit of the 
Allegheny Mountains, and is 105 miles east of Pittsburg by 
the railroad. Here, after ascending the mountains westward 
from Altoona and rising about eleven hundred feet in eleven 
miles, in which the road passes for the most part along the 
northern side of a deep ravine, presenting some of the most 
■beautiful scenery in America, a part of which is the famous 
Horseshoe Curve, or Kitanning Point as it is more commonly 
called, the railroad passes through the summit of the moun- 
tain by means of a tunnel 3670 feet in length. " One is 
hurried onward through dense and unbroken darkness, and 
just as the first ray of light, the first breath of glorious 
mountain air breaks in there is heard the echoing cry, Gal- 
litzin ! the far-sounding name of him who with feet beautiful 
upon the mountains opened to the entrancing sunhght of faith 
the gloomy caverns of heresy and sin — a name shouted there 
with startling appropriateness, rendered the more striking 
that its deep significance was neither intended nor suspected." * 
Having passed through the village, or, more correctly, under 
it, — for the greater part is built over the western end of the 
tunnel, — the road makes the descent of the mountain, perhaps 
twelve hundred feet, in twenty-five miles to Conemaugh bor- 
ough, near Johnstown. 

Although it is probable that a few Catholic families set- 
tled m the vicinity of where the village now stands, and that 
Dr. Gallitzin held stations among them at intervals, the pres- 
ent congregation owes its existence to the railroad. Work 
was commenced on the tunnel in 1849, ^^^ continued for 

* Life, etc., p. 405. 



ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH. 



339 



about four years, during which time a large number of men, 
principally Catholics, were constantly employed. The better 
to accommodate them Father M'CuUagh built a cheap tem- 
porary frame church there in which he offered up the Holy 
Sacrifice once or twice in the month on Sundays, riding 
thither from the Summit, a distance of three miles, between 
the two Masses. After the completion of the tunnel a village 
sprung up composed principally of coal-miners and men in 
the employ of the railroad company, and in honor of the 
Apostle of the AUeghenies it was named Gallitzin. The 
church remained, and w^as visited on one Sunday in the 
month by the pastor of the Summit. When at the death of 
Father M'Cullagh the church at the latter place passed into 
the hands of Father Ryan, he had charge, like his prede- 
cessor, of that also at Gallitzin. At first he visited it once in 
the month, but soon the congregation increased and he began 
to offer the Holy Sacrifice in both places every Sunday. In 
i860 or a little later he replaced the temporary church, which 
was now ready to fall, by a more substantial frame building 
about 60 feet in length by 35 in width, of a plain and simple 
style. It stands on the highest summit of the AUeghenies, and 
commands a view that is at no point less than ten miles, while 
at some it will extend to forty miles. But the cold in winter is 
intense. The congregation continued to increase, so that in 
the beginning of 1863 it became necessary to appoint an 
assistant to aid the pastor in his ministrations. An enlarge- 
ment of the church was also necessary, and a frame addition 
60 feet in length by 40 in width was built across the end of 
the existing edifice in the summer of 1869, and was dedicated 
by the Bishop on the 12th of September. 

Gallitzin was separated from the Summit, as was said 
above, and became an independent parish with Father Ryan 
as its spiritual head in November of the same year. About 
this time a neat frame residence was also built for his recep- 
tion, but beyond that nothing more than a moderate growth 
of the congregation has marked the lapse of time. The pas- 
tor remains with his flock, which has not yet had the advan- 
tage of a parish school. The village and the surrounding 
country is almost entirely Catholic, and is either Irish or of 



340 ST. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH, 

Irish descent. The congregation will number about two 
hundred and forty families, composed of miners, men in the 
employ of the railroad company, and farmers, and it will grow 
in the future as it has done in the past. 

ST. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH, CAMBRIA COUNTY. 

St. Augustine's Church stands in a countr}^ place about 
nine miles north of Loretto ; and the locality, owing to the 
peculiar formation of the surrounding mountains, is familiarly 
called '' the Loop." The Catholic settlement is an offshoot of 
the Loretto colony, and was first visited from that place. It 
is uncertain at what time stations first began to be held at the 
Loop, for the name " St. Augustine" was unknown until after 
the church was dedicated ; but there can be no doubt that Dr. 
Gallitzin was there as early as 1835. It continued to be under 
the jurisdiction of the pastor of Loretta until 1848. When 
Bishop O'Connor paid his first visit to it in the summer of the 
previous year, a church was in course of erection though un- 
finished, as he informs us in his Notes, and the incipient con- 
gregation already numbered five hundred souls. When 
detached from Loretto in 1848, it, together with the little flock 
at Cameron Bottom, was placed under the care of Rev. Jas. 
Gallagher, who most probably resided at the former place. 
The church was not dedicated until the following year, when 
it was placed under the invocation of St. Augustine, but the 
date of the ceremony has not been ascertained. A frame 
residence was also built for the pastor. In the summer of 
1850 Rev. John Burns succeeded Father Gallagher. Time 
sped rapidly and the congregation increased, but beyond this 
its history for many years is uneventful. In 1859 ^ little 
church was built at Chest Springs, as will presently appear, 
for the better accommodation of a part of the people. Father 
Burns entered the Benedictine Order May 26th, 1866, andAvas 
succeeded by his brother. Rev. Ed. Burns. Soon after his 
arrival he found it necessary to enlarge the church. A new 
portion was accordmgly built, and when finished was dedi- 
cated by Bishop Domenec, August 28th, 1868. The church is 
frame, is 170 feet in length by 70 in width, but so unique in 



DEATH OF REV., E. BURNS. 341 

construction as to defy description. An additional priest was 
now demanded to aid the pastor, and the congregation has 
since been under the care of two, wiXh the exception of brief 
intervals. At length it sustained a loss in the death of Father 
Burns, which took place somewhat suddenly at Pittsburg, 
December 29th, 1872. At the time of his death he was in the 
37th year of his age. His remains repose in St. Mary's Ceme- 
tery, Pittsburg. 

Rev. Edward Burns was a native of county Tipperary, 
Ireland. Having there pursued his studies for some time, he 
came to America, and entered the diocesan seminary at Pitts- 
burg. From there he was ordained in the autumn of 1862 
and stationed at the Cathedral, where he remained until trans- 
ferred to St. Augustine's. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Thos. M'Enrue, who presided 
over the congregation until September, 1877, when he gave 
place to Rev. F. X. McCarthy, who was succeeded in August, 
1879, t>y Rev. M. Ryan. The congregation still continues to 
increase, and is composed exclusively of farmers. In point of 
nationality it is American. The distance at which the greater 
part of the people live from the church has prevented the 
opening of a parish school. Few congregations in the coun- 
try impose a heavier tax on the strength of the pastor than St. 
Augustine's, owing to its size, its scattered character, the in- 
difference of the roads, and the inclemency of the mountain 
weather in all seasons except summer. It is by far the largest 
country congregation in the western part of the State, and 
will number between five and six hundred families. 

ST. MONICA'S CHURCH, CHEST SPRINGS. 

The village of Chest Springs is six miles north of Loretto 
and about four south-west of St. Augustine's Church, and in 
1870 contained a population of 269. As the congregation of 
St. Augustine's increased, and it was difficult for many of the 
people living at a distance to hear Mass during a considerable 
portion of the year, it was deemed advisable to accommodate 
a part at least by erecting this church, near which a large 
number resided. It is a small frame building, was erected in 



342 -5-7^. iMOAUCA'S CHURCH. 

1859, ^^d was dedicated March 20th of the following- year by 
Rev. J. Burns, then pastor of the parent church. Mass was 
at first celebrated on two Sundays in the month, but is now 
offered every Sunday ; but it has always and is still regarded 
as an outpost of St. Augustine's, and cannot for that reason 
be said to have a congregation properly so called. It is prob- 
able, however, that the time will come when it will be de- 
tached and become an independent parish. 



CHAPTER XX. 



CAMBRIA COUNTY (CONCLUDED). 

Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Ebensburg — Carrolltown — St. Joseph's 
Church, Hart's Sleeping-Place — St. Benedict's Church, Carrolltown — St. 
Lawrence's Church, Glen Connell — St. Boniface's Church, St. Boniface — St. 
Nicholas' Church, St. Nicholas — Johnstown — St. John Gualbert's Church, 
Johnstown — Death and sketch of Rev. P. Brown — St. Joseph's German 
Church — German Church of the Immaculate Conception, Cambria City. 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS, EBENSBURG, 
CAMBRIA COUNTY. 

Ebensburg, the county-seat of Cambria County, is a flour- 
ishing town on the top of one of the spurs of the Allegheny 
Mountains, about ten miles west of the summit of the main 
ridge, and commands a grand and extensive view of the sur- 
rounding country. The turnpike from the east to Pittsburg 
passes through it, and another runs to Indiana. It is also 
connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Cresson by a 
branch road thirteen miles in length. It was the wish of the 
railroad company to have this branch pass through Loretto, 
which would have conferred a great benefit upon its Catholic 
educational institutions ; but the people would not take the 
required amount of stock — a refusal of which they now fruit- 
lessly repent— and the road passes two miles south of the 
village. Ebensburg was settled by the Welsh, and Rev. 
Rees Lloyd, who came about the year 1796 and gave the 
town the name it bears, was the first to arrive. But the land 
upon which it stands had been purchased about two years 
before by Rev. Morgan J. Rees from Benjamin Rush, one of 
the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The town 
wa^founded about the close of the last century, was made the 



344 



ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, EBENSBURG. 



count3^-seat in 1805, incorporated as a borough in 1825,* and 
had in 1870 a population of 1240. 

Although Ebensburg was originally settled by Protestants 
of the most illiberal school, it was not long before a small 
number of Catholic families found their way into the town 
and its immediate environs, w^ho, like those of all the sur- 
rounding country, were under the jurisdiction of Dr. Gallitzin. 
It cannot be ascertained with certainty at what time he began 
to say Mass among the people, but Father Bradley informs 
me that a small frame church was erected there about the 
year 18 16 and dedicated to St. Patrick. It continued to form 
a part of Dr. Gallitzin's extensive mission until the arrival of 
Rev. Patrick Rafferty, who came to reside there most proba- 
bly in 1829, although he does not appear to have remained 
more than a few months. Then came Rev. P. Duffy, whose 
name will occur further on, and who is known with certainty 
to have been pastor of the congregation in July, i830.t Rev. 
Jas. Bradley, the present pastor of the church at Newry, was 
appointed pastor of Ebensburg in October, 1830, immediately 
after his ordination. Making this the centre of his mission, 
he visited a large number of stations in Cambria and Indiana 
counties, giving to the church at Ebensburg not more than 
one Sunday, or at most two, in the month. " In 183 1," he 
tells me, " the Portage Railroad from Johnstown to Holli- 
daysburg (connecting the western and eastern divisions of the 
Pennsylvania Canal) was under contract, and a good number 
of hands were employed in grading it. Attending to them 
and to all Dr. GaUitzin's sick-calls kept me very busy that 
year. In (October) 1832 Father O'Reilly was appointed to 
assist Father M'Guire, of Pittsburg, and I had to take charge of 
his large district of Newry in addition to the Ebensburg dis- 
trict for two years longer. I was relieved of the Ebensburg 
district in the fall of 1834 by Father Lemcke." He then took 
up his residence at Newry and confined his labors to the 
country east of the mountains. 

In the history of Loretto we have seen the manner in 



* Historical Collections, pp. i8o, 181. 
t U. S. Catholic Miscellany. 



CHANGES OF PASTORS. 



345 



which Dr. Gallitzin introduced Father Lemcke to the people 
of Ebensburg. But it would appear that although he suc- 
ceeded Father Bradley, there was an interval between the 
departure of the one and the arrival of the other. For the 
next ten years Mass was celebrated no more frequently than 
it had been before, for the pastor's field of labor was still very 
extensive. Father Lemcke resided at Ebensburg until 1837, 
when he removed to his farm at Carrolltown, nine miles to 
the north, but he continued to visit the congregation until 
about 1844. During the two following years it was visited 
monthly from the Summit. When Bishop O'Connor made 
his first visitation, his Notes, so frequently referred to, inform 
us that it contained 300 souls. The church was now too 
small, and being old was out of repair, and the Bishop en- 
couraged the congregation to undertake the erection of a new 
one. They compHed with his request, and he laid the corner- 
stone on the 3d of August, 1848. The date of its completion 
and dedication is not known. It is a small plain brick build- 
ing, and is yet standing. Rev. P. Duffy returned in 1849 ^^^ 
was pastor for at least two years, if not for a longer period. 
The congregation was then visited monthly for two years 
from Loretto. Finally, at the close of 1855, Rev. M. J. 
Mitchell was appointed pastor, and the church has since been 
independent. No further change was made until after the 
close of the Rebellion. A part of the time Father Mitchell re- 
sided at the Franciscan Monastery at Loretto, but at length 
a house was purchased for him and he closed his pastorate, 
residing among his people. He was succeeded by Rev. R. 
C. Christy about the close of the year 1864. The congrega- 
tion had increased but little in the past twenty years, nor has 
it increased much since ; but the circumstances of the people 
had undergone a considerable change for the better, and they 
began to consider the propriety of replacing the old church 
with a better one. A lot was purchased near the existing 
church, work was commenced, and the corner-stone was laid 
by the paster June 4th, 186;. The church was not finished 
until the end of two years, when it was dedicated by the Bishop 
November 14th, and the title was changed from St. Patrick 
— under whose invocation the two former had been placed — 



346 CARROLLTOWN, 

to that of the Holy Name of Jesus. It is an elegant brick 
building, modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, and 
is I GO feet in length by 50 in width. There are three altars. 
The tower in the centre in front is at present completed only 
to the comb of the roof. 

Shortly before the completion of the church Father Christy 
introduced a number of Sisters of St. Joseph from New York, 
for whose reception a convent was built, and who, besides 
taking charge of the parish school now first called into exist- 
ence, also opened Mount Gallitzin Seminary for very small 
boys. A little later the old pastoral residence was disposed 
of, and a new brick one erected at the rear of the church 
and adjoining it. But Father Christy's health, which had 
been seriously impaired by toil and exposure while he was 
chaplain of the Seventy-eighth Regiment in the Army of 
the Cumberland during the Rebellion, was since gradually 
declining, and he was forced to seek an easier field of labor 
in the beginning of 1874. He was succeeded by Rev. John 
Boyle, the present pastor. The congregation has undergone 
but little change for many years, and there is nothing to show 
that its future history will be more eventful than its past has 
been. It will number about sixty families, farmers and busi- 
ness men in the town. 



ST. benedict's church, CARROLLTOWN, AND ST. JOSEPH'S 
CHURCH, hart's SLEEPING-PLACE.* 

The village of Carrolltown, which was founded about the 
year 1839, is situated on the summit of the Laurel Ridge, a 
spur of the Allegheny Mountains about twelve miles north- 
west of Loretto, at a point where the ridge begins to lose its 
distinctive character and becomes assimilated to the surround- 
ing country. It was the wish of Dr. Gallitzin to see a Catho- 
lic colony planted at Carrolltown, as he had founded that at 
Loretto, and at his earnest sohcitation Father Lemcke under- 
took to found it. A number of settlers had already located 
themselves a short distance north of where the village stands, 

* Compiled principally from "St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien," pp. igg et seq. 



THE TRAPPISTS AT CARROLLTOWN, 347 

and in 1836 Father Lemcke purchased four hundred acres of 
land there, upon which he soon after took up his residence. 
But the idea of founding a colony on the top of the ridge was 
as ill-advised as that of Dr. Gallitzin in founding one upon 
the summit of the Alleghenies. It was the intention of Father 
Lemcke to name the rising village Gallitzin, in honor of his 
friend ; but the latter would not consent to it, and suggested 
that of the first American Prelate, Archbishop Carroll, which 
was adopted. In 1870 the village had a population of 416. 

But the Catholic history of this section of the country 
dates from a period long anterior to the arrival of Father 
Lemcke. A colony of Trappist monks sought to establish a 
house of their order at a spot about half a mile from Carroll- 
town about the beginning of the present century, although, 
strange as it may appear, there is no mention of it in any of 
the extant letters of Dr. Gallitzin. Driven from France by 
the revolution in 1791, a number of the monks found a tem- 
porary home in Switzerland, where they remained until the 
influence of the French* Government began to be felt in that 
country in 1798, when they were again forced to fly. They 
now passed into Russia and soon after into Prussia, and fi- 
nally set sail for the New World under the guidance of Father 
Urban Guillet, May 29th, 1803. They landed at Baltimore on 
the 4th of September, and came to the vicinity of the future 
CarroUtown ; but failing to make a foundation there, they 
next proceeded to Pigeon Hill, Adams County, Pa., and aban- 
doning that also, they went further west. 

The first settler near CarroUtown Avas John Weakland, one 
of the most courageous and powerful of men, and one of the 
most famous Catholic pioneers of Western Pennsylyania. 
Leaving Loretto in 18 19, he purchased a large tract of land 
for himself and his numerous family about three miles north 
of the site of CarroUtown, at a spot called Hart's Sleeping- 
Place, in memory of a celebrated fur trader by the name of 
John Hart, who had frequently rested there. Among the 
settlers, the greater part of whom were Germans, was a man 
by the name of Luther, said to have been a descendant of the 
Father of the Reformation. About the year 1830, or perhaps 
earlier, John Weakland donated four acres of ground as the 



348 THE BENEDICTINES AT CARROLLTOWN. 

site of a church, and, m company with the other settlers and 
under the direction of Dr. Gallitzin, he built a log-church, 
which was dedicated to St. Joseph and is yet standing. Dr. 
Gallitzin visited the church until the arrival of Father Bradley 
at Ebensburg in the fall of 1830, w^ho then took charge of it 
until he was succeeded by Fr. Lemcke. Bishop Kenrick 
visited the church and administered confirmation October 
i6th, 1832. When Father Lemcke purchased a farm at Car- 
rolltown four years later, he built a small house for himself 
over a spring of water which is the source of the West Branch 
of the Susquehanna River. Some time later he built a frame 
chapel near it, in which Mass was celebrated on week-days, 
although St. Joseph's was the parish church until the summer 
of 1850, as will appear further on. Father Lemcke continued 
to preside over the congregation until about 1844, when he 
crossed the Atlantic to Germany to try to collect money to 
aid him in erecting a large church and to secure German 
priests for the new diocese."^ During his absence St. Joseph's 
was visited for a time from Loretto, and later was under the 
pastoral care of Rev. M. Stauber. 

When the Benedictine fathers entered the diocese in the 
fall of 1846, they at first thought of establishing themselves at 
Carrolltown, but w^ere dissuaded from doing so by the Bishop, 
who, better informed than they, recommended the site of the 
present Abbey of St. Vincent's in Westmoreland County. 
The father prior, however, soon contemplated the erection of 
a second house, and on visiting. Father Lemcke, in the sum- 
mer of 1848, made an arrangement with him for the purchase 
of his farm and for taking charge of the congregation. The 
Bishop gave the necessar}^ permission for founding a prior}^, 
and also committed the care of the congregation to the Bene- 
dictine Order by an instrument dated October i6th of that 
year. The foundation was made December i6th, and Rev. 
Peter Lechner, one of the most learned and energetic mem- 
bers of the order, became the first prior and pastor. Father 
Lemcke soon after went to Kansas and thence to Reading, 
Pa., where he took charge of a congregation and wrote his 
" Leben und Wirken des Prinzen Demetrius Gallitzin." 

* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, p. 26. 



ST. BENEDICT'S CHURCH, 349 

St. Joseph's Church had by this time become too small to 
accommodate the ever-increasing- congregation, and it was, 
besides, some distance north of the centre of the parish, which 
was principally in the vicinity of the village. The new church 
contemplated by Father Lemcke was undertaken in the spring 
of 1849, ^^d the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 
loth of June. It was finished at the end of the following 
year, and was dedicated, under the invocation of St. Benedict 
— to whom the priory is also dedicated — by the prior. Rev. 
Father. Coelestine, on Christmas Day. The church is a sub- 
stantial brick building, modelled after the Romanesque style 
of architecture, and is no feet in length by 55 in width. St. 
Joseph's was now abandoned as a parish church, although 
Mass is occasionally celebrated in it, and St. Benedict's be- 
came the future place of worship for the congregation. 

A large brick priory was built during the administration 
of Father Agedius Christoph — from 1862 to 1868 — but the pre- 
cise date of its completion has not been ascertained. A parish 
school was still wanting, and the people of that portion of the 
county, who for the most part are Catholics, did all in their 
power to supply the deficiency — and the same may be said of 
other congregations in the northern section of the county — 
by having Catholic teachers employed in the public schools. 
But although this measure may have been productive of some 
good, the public-school system is so radically wrong and op- 
posed to the true Christian instinct that the people of St. 
Benedict's were not satisfied until they had a parish school. 
The date of its opening is not known, but it was some time 
after the year 1856. The children — or rather such of them as 
did not live at too great a distance to attend — were under the 
care of lay teachers until the early part of 1870. In the pre- 
vious year a large brick convent had been built near the 
church and placed under the patronage of St. Scholastica, and 
a colony of Benedictine nuns was introduced into it and has 
since had charge of the schools. This convent was the mother- 
house of the nuns of this order in the two dioceses until re- 
cently. But the march of improvement did not stop here. 
The congregation continued to increase, and the church, 
though large, could no longer accommodate it. It was ac- 



350 



ST. LAWRENCE'S CHURCH. 



cordingly enlarged in 1867, and when completed was dedi- 
cated by the Bishop November 13th. Nor was this all. A 
massive tower was erected, terminating in a spire at the 
height of 165 feet, and was supplied with a chime of four 
bells, which were blessed by the Bishop September 22d, 1872. 
Here the people rested, being now supplied with all the 
buildings and accommodations necessary for many years. 
The congregation numbers 2000,^ all farmers with the excep- 
tion of those living in the village, and although originally Ger- 
man, it is fast becoming American both in language ^nd cus- 
toms. The future of the congregation will be as its past has 
been, a gradual increase in numbers and prosperity. 

ST. LAWRENCE'S CHURCH, GLEN CONNELL. 

St. Lawrence's Church is in a country place in the midst 
of a small German settlement commonly known as Glen Con- 
nell, about ten miles north-east of Carrolltown. For some time 
it was a missionary station visited from St. Joseph's and later 
from Carrolltown. A church was undertaken as early as 
1853, although Mass had been celebrated at intervals long 
before that time, but it was not finished and dedicated till 
about two years later, when it was placed under the invoca- 
tion of St. Lawrence, which name is fast superseding that of 
Glen Connell as the name of the locality. It has always been 
and is yet attached to Carrolltown. At first it was visited on 
one Sunday in the month, but more recently it was visited on 
two Sundays. The congregation numbers at present 180 
souls, all farmers ; and while it is slowly increasing, its fu- 
ture prospects are not very flattering, being so far removed 
from ready communication with other places. 

ST. BONIFACE'S CHURCH, ST. BONIFACE. 

St. Boniface's Church stands in a country place about six 
miles north of Carrolltown, and is the northern, as the latter is 
the southern, extremity of the Hart's Sleeping-Place settlement. 

* These figures, as well as those of the following congregation, are taken from 
the Catalogiis Exhibens Nomina Monachoru??i, etc., 1879, P* 55- 



ST. NICKOLAS' CHURCH. 35 1 

The congregation is German or of German descent, and con- 
sists exclusively of farmers. For a time it was a station 
visited occasionally from Carrolltown, to which it is yet at- 
tached ; but in process of time the number of CathoHcs so 
far increased as to render it expedient to build a church for 
their accommodation. It was finished and dedicated under 
the invocation of St. Boniface a short time before the year 
1869, but the precise date has not been ascertained. Mass is 
celebrated on two Sundays in the month. In 1873 it num- 
bered 300 souls, and it has since been steadily increasing, as 
it will continue to do in the future. The proximity of the 
church to Carrolltown makes it probable that it will continue 
for many years to be visited from the Benedictine priory. 

ST. NICKOLAS' CHURCH, ST. NICKOLAS. 

The village of St. Nickolas, or Nicktown — as the post-office 
is named — is about eight miles west of Carrolltown. It was 
laid out, probably about the year 1865, by Nickolas Lambourn, 
who owned the land and who donated a lot as the site of a 
church. The Catholic inhabitants of the village and surround- 
ing country are principally Germans. From the beginning 
the mission was, as it still is, under the spiritual direction of 
the Benedictine fathers of Carrolltown, under whose inspira- 
tion a church was undertaken in the spring of 1866. The 
corner-stone was laid by the Bishop on the 21st of June, and 
when finished the church was dedicated to St. Nickolas by 
the same prelate. It is a neat frame building containing ele- 
ments of the Romanesque style of architecture, and is about 
70 feet in length by 35 in width and surmounted by a belfry. 
From the date of its completion it was visited on two Sundays 
in the month, but more recently Mass is celebrated every 
Sunday. But the pastor does not hve in the congregation, 
nor will he in all probability for many years. A school was 
opened in a rustic building by a lay teacher soon after the 
completion of the church; and has since continued to con- 
tribute its share to the cause of rehgion. The congregation 
is composed of farmers and numbers 650 souls. Its growth 
will be very moderate, owing to its comparative seclusion. 



352 JOHNSTOWN. 

JOHNSTOWN. 

Johnstown is situated on a broad flat at the foot of the 
western slope of the AUeghenies, and is completely surrounded 
by mountains. What is generally called ''Johnstown" is not, 
however, a city, but consists of a number of separately incor- 
porated boroughs immediately adjoining each other, and all 
within a radius of two miles from the centre of Johnstown 
borough. They have an aggregate population of 18,000, more 
than one third of which is Catholic. It occupies the site of an 
Indian village by the name of Kickanapawlin's Town, and is 
on the Conemaugh River, the Pennsylvania Canal, and the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, by the last of which it is 78 miles east 
of Pittsburg. About the year 1791 or 1792 Mr. Joseph Yahn, 
or Jahn, an enterprising German, came and settled there, and 
the original title-deeds of man}^ of the town lots are in his 
name. As this was the head of navigation to those seeking 
the western waters — although the Conemaugh River was 
navigable only at certain seasons and for small craft, and even 
then dangerous — it became a place of shipment for the iron of 
Huntingdon County, and for the lumber and produce of the 
vicinity, as well as for the emigration destined for the west. 
Arks and flat-boats were then the only mode of conveyance. 
The pigs and blooms of Juniata iron were hauled over the old 
Frankstown road by the gap of that name. The place was 
then called Conemaugh.* 

Being at a later date the eastern terminus of the western 
division of the canal, it was necessar}^ to connect with the 
eastern division at Hollidaysburg ; which was accomplished 
by means of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, commonly 
known as " the old Portage." f It was to the construction of 
the canal, and the business which it called into life, that Johns- 
town owed its rise ; but its present importance is due to its 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 182, 183. 

f Being mainly the work of Irish Catholics, the subjoined notice of it will no 
doubt be interesting : ' ' The Allegheny Portage Railroad is 39yV<7 ^liles in length 
from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown, overcoming in ascent and descent an aggregate 
of 2570 feet, 1398 of which are on the eastern and 11 72 on the western side of the 
mountain. It crosses the mountains at Blair's Gap summit, and descends along the 
mountain branch of the Conemaugh ; the top of the mountain, which is some 200 



ST. JOHN GUALBERT'S CHURCH. 353 

extensive iron and steel manufactories. As early as 1820 a 
forge or bloomery was built, and about twenty years later the 
first blast-furnace was constructed. In 1853 a large rolling- 
mill was completed, and since that time the manufacture of 
iron and steel has been steadily increasing till it has reached 
an extent that is almost incredible for the size of the town ; 
and notwithstanding the financial depression of the times, the 
works are being constantly enlarged. The completion of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad in 1853 struck a death-blow at the 
canal ; although it survived a few years, just at the time when, 
with great expense to the State, the grading of the '' new 
Portage" Railroad, by which it was intended to cross the 
mountains by means of locomotives instead of stationary 
engines and planes, had been completed. But the railroad 
infused new life into Johnstown. 

ST. JOHN GUALBERT'S CHURCH, JOHNSTOWN. 

The introduction of Catholicity dates from before the con- 
struction of the canal. Dr. Gallitzin is thought to have visited 
the town and ministered to the few Catholic families before 
the year 1830. After the appointment of Rev. Jas. Bradley to 
Ebensburg, in the fall of that year, Johnstown became a part 
of his mission ; and he visited it, as he informs me, at regular 
intervals. Having celebrated Mass for a time in a private 
house, he began the erection of a church, in 1832, on a lot in 
Conemaugh borough, donated for that object by a Mr. Liver- 
good. The Catholic population at this time consisted of no 
more than three or four families, besides a number of transient 
laborers. Father Bradley was soon after transferred to Newry, 
and Father Lemcke visited Johnstown on one Sunday in the 
month from the date of his appointment to Ebensburg. The 
church, an unpretending brick building about 50 feet in length 

feet higher than the culminating point of the railroad, is 2700 feet above the Dela- 
ware River at Philadelphia. The ascent and descent have been overcome by ten 
inclined planes, lifting from 130 to 307 feet and varying in inclination between 4^ 
and 5f degrees. The shortest plane is 1585 feet, and 130 feet high ; the longest is 
3100 feet, and 307 feet high. . . . The cars are elevated by stationary steam- 
engines at the head of each plane, and on the intervening levels locomotives and 
horses are used. The total cost of the road, including stationary engines, etc., 
exceeded $1,500,000." — Ibid., p. 183. 



354 THE CHURCH SOLD. 

by 30 in width, was finished, and was dedicated by Bishop Ken- 
rick July 15th, 1835. 

When the Portage Railroad was finished in 1834 the hands 
withdrew, reducing the congregation to thirteen families, 
while much of the debt contracted in building the church 
remained unpaid, and it was sold by the contractor in 1836. 
Two years later, when the congregation had increased, the 
church was repurchased. It was visited, generally once in the 
month, at one time from Ebensburg, again from Loretto, and 
finally from the Summit, until 1844, when Rev. Patrick 
Ratigan was appointed first resident pastor. He had, how- 
ever, other missions in connection with it. But his health 
faihng, he withdrew, and the church was again visited by 
Father Lemcke until about the close of 1846, when Rev. T. 
Mullen was appointed pastor with the additional mission of 
Wilmore. Previously to this a number of German families 
had settled in the town, and the prospects were that it would 
in time contain a considerable German Catholic population. 
In July, 1850, the Bishop sent Rev. Teresius Gezowski, a 
Carmelite, to Johnstown to minister to the Germans of the 
mountain district.* Soon after, however, they became a dis- 
tinct congregation. The Catholic population increased rapidly 
owing to the commencement of the iron manufacture. To 
accommodate the people, as well as to secure a more central 
locahty. Father Mullen purchased lots on Jackson Street, in 
the eastern part of the town, as the site of a new church, and 
began preparations for its erection. He also opened a paro- 
chial school conducted by lay teachers. 

In the autumn of 1854 he was transferred to Allegheny 
City, and was succeeded by Rev. James Kearney. During 
his pastorate the idea of erecting a church was entertained, 
but work was not actually commenced. Early in 1859 he was 
succeeded by Rev. Peter M. Garvey, who soon after his ap- 
pointment began work on the new church. Upon its comple- 
tion it was dedicated by the Bishop September 25th, 1864. It 
is a brick building 131 feet in length by 64 in width, with a 
tower in the centre in front built up to the comb of the roof, 

* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, p. 231. 



DEATH OF REV. P. BROWN. 355 

and surmounted by a nondescript temporary wooden belfry. 
The style, if style it may be called, of the church is peculiar. 
The nave is separated from the aisles by four columns on 
each side, surmounted by composite capitals. The ceiling of 
the nave is the tunnel vault, while that of the aisles is flat. 
The windows are small and square-topped and very high in 
the walls, and the interior is painted and pointed in imitation 
of stone. The altar-railing crosses the entire building, enclos- 
ing the high and two side altars. A large brick pastoral 
residence was also built by the side of the church. About 
the year 1869 the congregation purchased a large brick build- 
ing near the church, which was converted into a convent 
under the title of St. Mary's for the Benedictine nuns, who 
soon after took charge of the schools. Some time later a 
brick school-house 45 by 80 feet was built, to which the 
children of the parish were transferred. 

The congregation had so much increased that a second 
priest was required about the year 1866, and since that time, 
with but little exception, two priests have ministered in St. 
John's Church. 

Rev. Peter Brown, the first to fill that office, after having 
labored in the sacred ministry for almost thirty years, died at 
Johnstown, August 8th, 1872, in the 56th year of his age. 
His remains were interred at Summitsville by the side of 
those of Rev. Thos. M'Cullagh. A tasteful monument was 
erected some time later to mark the spot by the members of 
the congregation in whose behalf he had so efficiently 
labored. 

Rev. Peter Brown was born in Gleneely, parish of 
Donoughmore, county Galway, Ireland. Having almost 
completed his course of theology at Maynooth College, he 
came to America and to the Diocese of Pittsburg at the invi- 
tation of the newly consecrated Bishop O'Connor, being one 
of the first to accept it. He was ordained to the sacred min- 
istry in company with two of his companions. Rev. T. Mullen 
and Rev. P. Duffy, September 3d, 1844. He was sent almost 
immediately after to Erie City, where he labored for a num- 
ber of years, when he returned, after having been at several 
other places, to the Diocese of Pittsburg and was stationed at 



356 GERMANS IX JOHNSTOWN. 

Johnstown. As a pleasing, persuasive, and eloquent preacher 
he had few superiors in the country. 

At the close of the year 1872 Father Garv^ey was succeeded 
by the present incumbent, Rev. O. P. Gallagher. Notwith- 
standing the panic that fell upon the country soon after his 
appointment, Father Gallagher has been able to make many 
important and necessarj^ improvements both in the church 
and the pastoral residence, besides paying off a heavy debt in 
an incredibly short space of time. Further improvements are 
contemplated in the church which will add to its appearance 
and comfort, but which will not be undertaken for some time. 
The erection of new steel manufactories is now adding to the 
congregation. In September, 1878, when the Benedictine 
nuns took charge of the large school at St. Mary's Church, 
Allegheny City, thej^ found it necessary to withdraw from 
Johnstown, and they accordingly gave place to a number of 
Sisters of Charity from Altoona, for whose reception a house 
was leased, the old convent being now very much out of re- 
pair. It is the intention of the pastor to build a new convent 
as soon as the circumstances of the congregation will justify 
the undertaking. 

The congregation is at present the most flourishing out- 
side of the cities, and with the exception of that at Altoona, 
and perhaps without excepting it, is the largest, and will 
number in all probability 5000 souls. It must continue to in- 
crease in the future until a division becomes necessary. In 
no part of the diocese perhaps are the prospects of the Church 
more flattering than in Johnstown. 

ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, JOHNSTOWN."^ 

German Cathohcs began to settle in Johnstown at an early 
day, but their number was not considerable until about the 
year 1850. Bishop O'Connor then sent a Carmelite father, 
Rev. Teresius Gezowski, to minister to the Germans there 
and in other parts of the mountain district. When he was 
transferred to Butler, about a year later, the Bishop requested 
the abbot of St. Vincent's to take charge of the place, and a 

* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, pp. 231, 232. 



S7\ JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH. 357 

priest was accordingly sent, at first once in the month, then 
twice, from the abbey. But while a mission was being held 
in the English church during the same year, the Germans 
were encouraged to build a church for themselves. This 
they immediately determined to do, and what they were 
unable to accomplish by means of subscriptions they did by 
the labor of their own hands ; and although the incipient con- 
gregation consisted of but twenty-eight families, the church 
was soon finished. It is a plain frame building, 30 by 48 feet, 
and was dedicated, under the invocation of St. Joseph, by Rev. 
T. Mullen, pastor of the English church, January 4th, 1852. 
A school in charge of a lay teacher was soon after opened in 
the basement. Since its organization the church has been in 
charge of the Benedictine fathers. For some years it was 
visited from the abbey, but in 1859 ^ brick pastoral residence 
was built near the church and a priory was established there. 
About this time the Germans residing in Cambria City, the 
western part of what is called Johnstown — St. Joseph's Church 
being in the eastern part — determined to build a church for 
their own accommodation, a determination which resulted in 
the present Church of the Immaculate Conception. 

The congregation increased rapidly, and in time the 
little church was crowded to excess. A more spacious and 
imposing edifice was now contemplated, and the Cambria 
Iron Company donated a large and eligible lot as the site of 
it a few squares from the spot occupied by the existing 
church. Work was commenced, and the corner-stone was 
laid by the Bishop November 15th, 1868. The church was 
finished with the exception of the steeple, which was built 
only to the comb of the roof, at the end of two years, and 
was dedicated by the same prelate October 30th, 1870. It is 
a brick structure modelled after the Gothic style of archi- 
tecture, but is without columns, and has the ceihng rising 
from the sides ribbed towards the centre. It is 120 feet in 
length by 66 in width, and has three altars. But the plan of 
the building is seriously defective. The span is too great for 
the strength of the roof-timbers, and there is danger of the 
walls eventually spreading, and in fact the rear wall is already 
beginning to part. Owing to this defect it is to be feared the 



358 



CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 



church will probably have to be torn down to prevent acci- 
dent. The spire was completed in an elegant proportion to 
the height of 179 feet, in the summer of 1876. 

A frame school-house was built in addition to the old 
church, which has been used as a school since the completion 
of the new edifice. The lay teachers were in time superseded 
by the Benedictine nuns from St. Mary's Convent attached to 
the Enghsh church, and these gave place to the Sisters of 
Charity from the same church in the autumn of 1878. 

The congregation is not increasing so rapidly now as for- 
merly, but numbers 900 souls, a small part of which five out- 
side the town. The future prospects of the congregation are 
very flattering. 

GERMAN CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 
CAMBRIA CITY. 

Cambria City is the most western of the aggregation of 
boroughs commonly called Johnstown. The Germans of this 
place, being, as was stated above, at a considerable distance 
from St. Joseph's Church, determined to have one for them- 
selves. Having had the Holy Sacrifice celebrated for some 
time in a room in their midst by one of the Benedictine 
fathers, the* church was built about the year 1859 — the precise 
date has not been ascertained — and w^as dedicated under the 
title of the Immaculate Conception. A school, the insepara- 
ble companion of the church, was opened, and has since been 
conducted by a lay teacher. Having been under the care of the 
Benedictine fathers from its erection, the church passed in 
1872 into that of the secular clergy, with whom it has since 
remained. A pastoral residence was about this time built. 
The present pastor is Rev. Jos. Lingel. The congregation 
has increased gradually since its formation, and at present 
will probably number about one hundred and fifty families ; 
and it must continue to increase in the future. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

The place it occupies in our history — General features — First Catholic settlement 
in Western Pennsylvania — The first Mass — The first priest — The first church 
— Death of Rev. Theodore Browers — Troubles — Rev. P. Heilbron — New 
settlements — Death of Father Heilbron — Rev. Ch. B M'Guire — Trustees — 
Rev. Terence M'Girr — Arrival of Rev. J. A. Stillinger — The Bishop and the 
trustees — The new church. 

No part of Western Pennsylvania figures more prominently ■ 
in the history of Catholicity than Westmoreland County. It 
was the scene of the first permanent Catholic settlement in 
the State west of the Allegheny Mountains, and east of them J 
also as far as relates to the territory embraced within the pre-f 
sent history. It was also for many years a kind of resting-*' 
place for Cathohc emigrants to parts of the State lying farther 
west, beirig on Gen. Forbes' route from Cumberland to Pitts- 
burg, and also on the road, or path, from Philadelphia to the 
same city. Westmoreland County was formed from Bedford 
by an act of February 26th, 1773, and included the entire south- 
western corner of the State. To this was annexed, in 1785, 
the tract of country which constituted the last purchase from 
the Indians, and which came into possession of the State in 
the previous year, so that the county before it was subdivided 
embraced the entire western part of the State. At present it 
has an area of 1004 square miles, and is separated from Somer- 
set and Cambria on the east by the lofty and well-defined 
range of Laurel Hill. Parallel to this is the lower range of 
the Chestnut ridge, and between them the long and elevated 
Ligonier Valley, about ten miles wide. The soil, except in the 
mountain regions, is very fertile. The county was originally 
settled by Irish and German emigrants. 



360 EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

It is said that in Wheatfield ^ Township there is a remark- 
able mound, from which in the early part of the present 
century several articles were dug, consisting of a sort of stone 
serpent about five inches in diameter ; part of the entablature 
of a column, rudely carved in the form of diamonds and leaves ; - 
an earthen urn with ashes ; and many others of which no ac- 
count is now extant. It is thought to have been the ruins of 
an ancient Indian temple. Previous to 1758 Westmoreland 
was a wilderness, trodden only by the wild beast, the savage, 
and an occasional white trader or frontierman ; but in that 
year a road was cut by Gen. Forbes' army on their way to at- 
tack Fort Duquesne. This road opened the way for numerous 
pioneers into this region ; but as yet it was only safe for them 
to live under the protection of the forts.f 

Hannahstown, which stood about three miles north-east of 
Greensburg, but was destroyed by the Indians, was the first 
place west of the mountains where justice was administered 
according to legal forms by the white man. There was a 
wooden court-house and a jail of the like material. The first 
prothonotary and clerk of the courts was Arthur St. Clair, 
afterwards a general in the war of the Revolution. Robert 
Hanna was the first presiding judge ; and the first Court of 
Common Pleas was held in April, 1773. J 

The history of the first Catholic settlement is veif^ interest- 
ing, both from the fact that it is the first in the diocese and 
also on account of the vicissitudes through which the colonists 
had to pass in matters of religion. In the years 1787 and 1788 \ 
six CathoHc famihes left the settlement of Goshenhoppen, in 
Berks County, and crossmg the Alleghemes, established a 
colony in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, not far ' 
from Greensburg.§ In March, 1789, they purchased an acre I 
and twenty perches of land in Greensburg, as the site of a ^ 
church and burymg-ground, for which they paid five shillings. 
This was the first property owned by the Church in the 
western part of the State. The deed is made out in the name 

* The name has since been changed. 

f Day's Historical Collections, pp. 680, 681. 

tibid., p. 683. 

§ St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien, p. 43 ei seq. 



THE FIRST MASS. 361 

of the following six persons, who were the original settlers : 
John Propst, John Young, Patrick Archbald, and the three 
brothers Christian, George, and Simon Ruffner.* 

Before setting out from the east they had obtained a pro- 
mise from the priests stationed both at Goshenhoppen and 
Philadelphia that one of them would pay the new settlement 
an occasional visit, or secure the good offices of some other 
missionary, in their behalf. In compliance with this promise 
Rev. John B. Causey, a missionary at Conewago, penetrated 
the wilds, and arrived at the settlement in June, 1789. Thereat 
being as yet no church, he offered up the Holy Sacrifice in 
the house of John Propst, who lived a short distance west of 
Greensburg. This was the first Mass celebrated in a perma- 
nent Catholic settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains, and 
in the entire dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny. After re- 
maining but a short time. Father Causey returned to the east/ 
Few families ventured at that early day to join the colony, but 
it was not entirely without accessions. 

The second priest who visited the colony was Rev. Theo- 
dore Browers, of whom little more is known than that he was 
a native of Holland, a member of the Minorite Order, and 
that he had been on the mission for some time in the West 
Indies. He was also possessed of some wealth. He came to 
Philadelphia, but at what time is uncertain, and took up his 
residence with Rev. Peter Heilbron, whose name will occur 
farther on in these pages. Although urged to remain in 
Philadelphia, he determined to labor among the pioneers, and 
hearing of the Westmoreland colony concluded to make that 
his home and the centre of his missionary district. Before 
leaving the city he purchased a farm of 165 acres in West- 
moreland County, at the foot of the Chestnut ridge, a short 
distance east of the Catholic settlement, and known as 
*' O'NeiFs Victory," the property of one Arthur O'Neil, for 
which he paid 106 pounds and 17 shillmgs. The deed is 
dated August 7th, 1789, and the money was paid on the 27th 
of September.! He set out without delay, and after the vicis- 

* The Ruffners were natives of Tyrol, in Austria ; and Simon was the great- 
grandfather of the writer. 

f See " St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 357-60, where a diagram of the farm is traced 
and the deed given in full. 



362 SPORTSMAN'S HALL. 

situdes through which the traveller of those days was necessi- 
tated to pass he reached the settlement, and was welcomed 
with a feeling of joy that can readily be imagined. Finding 
no house upon his arrival, he passed the winter with Simon 
Ruffner. It was his intention to build a house and church on 
his farm ; but upon visiting it he found that it was not so fer- 
tile as he had been led to expect, and besides it was at too 
great a distance from the principal part of the settlement, 
being not less than twelve or fourteen miles east of Greensburg. 
There was another farm offered for sale nine miles east of 
Greensburg, and known as " Sportsman's Hall," which, being 
more central and more fertile, the settlers urged him to pur- 
chase. It was the property of one Joseph Hunter, and consisted] 
of about 3 1 5 acres. He accordingly purchased it for 475 pounds,! 
April i6th, 1790. It is the cradle of Catholicity in Western j 
Pennsylvania, and the site of St. Vincent's Church, abbey ,1" 
and college.^ The name Sportsman's Hall was retained until 
the dedication of the church, July 19th, 1835, since which, 
time it has been known by the familiar name of St. Vincent's., 
In the spring of 1790 a church was commenced at Greens-' 
burg, although, as we shall see, it was never finished. It was 
the first church undertaken in Western Pennsylvania ; the 
second was Dr. Galhtzin's, finished at Loretto on Christmas, 
1799; the third, St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek, Armstrong ; 
County, yet standing ; and the fourth, '' old St. Patrick's," | 
Pittsburg. / 

At the time Father Browers purchased Sportsman's Hall 
it could not boast so much as a log-hut to shelter its new pro- 
prietor ; but he employed a workman, such as the backwoods 
afforded, who ere long built a log-house, one and one half 
stories high and 17 feet square. The farm was entrusted to a 
man who should clear a part of the ground and till it ; and 
there being no church. Father Browers was accustomed to 
ride six miles every Sunday to the home of Simon Ruffner to 
offer up the Holy Sacrifice under his roof. But his health 
had been failmg for some time, and ill-suited him for a back- 
woods mission, although there were no other Cathohcs as yet 

* See diagram and deed in full, " St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 360-63. 



DEATH OF REV. T. B ROWERS. 363 

save those of this one settlement. His zeal forbade him to 
seek repose, and he was taken suddenly ill at the altar while 
celebrating Mass on a Sunday in June, 1790, and was unable 
to finish it. As his little remaining strength gradually ebbed 
away and he felt that his end was approaching, he sent to 
Conewago for a priest who should administer to him the last 
rites of the Church. Father Causey responded to the sum- 
mons ; but being unworthy of his sacred calling, his arrival 
was an ill-omen to the settlement. He was dissatisfied with 
Father Browers' will, and refused to administer the sacra- 
ments to him until he had altered it so as to make it harmonize 
with Father Causey's views. Worn out by the labors of a 
long and edifying career, Father Browers died October 29th, 
1790, the first to close his career in the western part of the 
State. By his will, dated but four days prior to his death, 
he says : ^ " First, I recommend my soul to God who. gave it,' 
my Body to the Earth to be buried in a decent Christian like 
manner on the Place I now live Called Sportsmanns Hall, and 
a small neat stonewall to be built around my grave. . . . 
I Give and Bequeath all my Books clothing and Furniture 
and all the residue of my personal estate that shall not be 
otherwise disposed of, to Jams Pennane, in Trust and for 
the use of the Poor Roman Catholic Irish, that does or shall 
live at the Chappel, on Conewagga, ... I give and be- 
queath all my Real Estate viz. my place on which I now live 
called Sportsmanns Hall, and one other Tract of Land on 
Loyelhanna Creek Called O'Neals Victory, with their ap- 
purtenances to a Roman Catholic Priest that shall succeed 
me in this same place, to be Entailed to him and to his Suc- 
cessors in trust and so left by him who shall succeed me to his 
successors and so in trust and for the use herein mentioned in 
succession forever. And that the said Priest for the time being 
shall strictly and faithfully say Four Masses Each and every 
year for ever viz. One for the soul of the Reverend Theodoras 
Browers, on the day of his death in each and every year for 
ever and three others the following days in each year as 



* See " St, Vincenz," etc., pp. 363-5, where the document is given in full. The,, 
extracts here given conform to the original in every particular. 



3^4 



WOLVES IN THE FOLD. 



aforesaid at the request of the Reverend Theodoras Browers 
And further it is my Will that the Priest for the time being 
shall Transmitt the Land so left him in Trust as aforesaid to 
his successor clear of all incumbrance." Christian Ruffner 
and Henry Coons (Kuhn) were named executors. Besides 
the property he had $1146, a large sum in those early days, in 
the bank at Philadelphia. 

No sooner was the good man laid to rest than Father 
Causey removed to Conewago the effects bequeathed to the 
Catholics of that settlement, and immediately set about gain- 
ing possession of the money in the bank. He succeeded, and 
with the aid of it led a life not only at variance with his sacred 
calling, but with all sound Christian principles, until he was 
finally arrested and cast into prison at York, Pa., by order of 
Very Rev. Jas. Pellenz, V.G. He gave bail, however, and 
was released, and history has forgotten to record his further 
aberrations. 

Next came Rev. Francis Fromm, a man of unfortunately 
the same stamp as his predecessor. Having been ordained in 
Germany, his native land, in 1773, and having exercised the 
duties of the sacred ministry in various places, he came to 
America in February, 1789, with a letter of introduction from 
the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Mentz. Arriving 
soon after at Conewago, and hearing from Father Causey of 
the settlement and farm in Westmoreland, he set out for the 
spot and took possession of the farm, according to the bequest 
of Father Browers, as he alleged, although he was not then 
nor afterwards received by Bishop Carroll, nor empowered 
to exercise the duties of the sacred ministrv in the United 
States. He remained, however, in spite of the remonstrances 
of the trustees and the Bishop, when he had heard of the usur- 
pation, until the trustees entered a suit against him to recover 
possession of the property. After a delay of several years, 
during which the settlement was in a deplorable .condition, it 
was finally decided against him at Greensburg m December, 
1798.* Nothing daunted, he immediately appealed to the 
Supreme Court at Philadelphia, whither he went the follow- 

* St. Vincenz,etc., pp. 365-376. 



TROUBLES. 365 

ing spring. He there met Rev. P. Heilbron, who in vain 
urged him to submit to the Bishop. He soon after fell a 
victim to the yellow-fever, then raging in that city. 

During Father Fromm's stay at Sportsman's Hall, the 
Bishop sent an Irish priest by the name of Rev. Mr. Whelan, 
or Phelan, to take charge of the mission. After remaining 
for a time and finding that nothing could be done in the un- 
happy state of affairs then existing, he withdrew, and was 
some years later at Sugar Creek — if that were indeed the 
same person. A priest of the same name, it will be remem- 
bered, was at Bedford in 1806. Bishop O'Connor was of 
opinion that this Father Whelan was the same as that men- 
tioned by Bishop Spalding as the first missionary to penetrate 
the wilds of Kentucky. But if the details given by the latter 
prelate are correct — as we must suppose they are — that opin- 
ion cannot be regarded as having sufficient foundation.* 
After Father Whelan came Rev. Mr. Lanigan, who also re- 
mained but a short time, when taking with him a number of 
the pioneers finally settled, as we have stated elsewhere, at 
Waynesburg, Greene County. Father Pellenz, from Cone- 
wago, also visited the colony once at least. 

The settlement had increased but little during this time, 
owing to the state of affairs just described ; and many of 
those who had set out from the east with a view of making it 
their home settled, on hearing of the disturbances, at Shade 
Valley, Frankstown, Sinking Valley, and other places east of 
the mountains, on and near the route. The Westmoreland 
settlement was composed of Germans and Irish, the former 
of whom predominated. It was as yet small, and was 
further reduced by the departure of those whom Father 
Lanigan had led to Waynesburg, so that accordmg to the 
statement of Rev. J. A. Stillenger — with whom the reader 
will presently become acquainted — there were but seventy- 
five communicants when Rev. Peter Heilbron arrived from 
Philadelphia, November 17th, 1799. It was a happy day for 
the people when he first appeared among them ; yet so httle 

* Sketches of the Life, Times, and Character of Bishop Flaget, by M. J. 
^ Spalding, D.D., Bishop of Louisville, pp. 73, 74. 



366 A CHURCH BUILT. 

talent had he for languages that until his death he could not 
learn sufficient English to carry on a conversation. The most 
he could acquire was a few words absolutely necessary for 
administering the sacraments. The person left in charge 
of the farm by Father Fromm would not yield possession to 
Father Heilbron until compelled to do it by the civil 
courts. 

As yet there was no church, and for a time he offered 
up the Holy Sacrifice in a room in his own log-house. But 
his labors were not confined to this settlement alone. Oth- 
ers had now begun to spring up in different parts of the 
country, and the whole of these, now constituting the dioceses 
of Pittsburg, Allegheny, and Erie, were for several years 
ministered to by him and Dr. Gallitzin. The principal of 
these were Shade Valley, Sinking Valley, Frankstown, Bed- 
ford, Loretto, Sportman's Hall, Jacob's Creek, Wa3mesburg, 
Brownsville, Pittsburg, Donegal, and Oil Creek. Soon after 
his arrival he built another log-house, 26 by 28 feet, which 
afforded better accommodations both to himself and the con- 
gregation. The happy settlement of the troubles of the 
colony induced other Catholics from the east to make it their 
home, and it began to increase rapidly. To accommodate 
the congregation thus augmented, an addition was made to 
the house, which served for a chapel for a few years. About 
the year 18 10 a hewed-log church 26 by 40 feet was built, and 
was the first church, properly speaking, in the settlement. It 
does not appear, however, that it was dedicated to any saint. 
As Father Heilbron undertook to manage the farm ac- 
cording to his own ideas of agriculture, it afforded him but 
a meagre support and left him at all times in straitened cir- 
cumstances. Prior to this date Father O'Brien had been 
stationed at Pittsburg, but his feeble health rendered him 
unable to minister to the whole of his extensive district, and 
the greater part of it was left as before to Father Heilbron 
and Dr. Gallitzin. The opening of the State roads or turn- 
pikes about the same time added to their labors, as the greater 
part oi the hands employed were Irish Catholics who longed 
for nothing more ardently than the consolations of religion. 
Father Heilbron appears to have been of a robust constitu- 



I 



DEATH OF REV. F, HEILBRON. 



367 



tion, but about the year 181 5 a tumor appeared on his neck, 
and having for a long time submitted himself in vain to the 
treatment of such physicians as the country afforded, he set 
out for Philadelphia to have the benefit of physicians of 
greater skill. It was to no purpose, however, and he resolved 
to return to his mission and labor among his people as long as 
it might please Providence to spare his life. But he was 
taken suddenly ill at Carlisle on his way home, and died there 
at the close of 18 16 or the beginning of the following year. 
His age at the time of his death, or any other particulars of 
his life beyond what are contained in this brief account of his 
labors, are not known. 

The congregation was without a pastor until the arrival of 
Rev. Charles B. M'Guire in the fall of 18 17, although in the 
mean time Father O'Brien had paid it an occasional visit and 
had encouraged the people to put the house in a more fitting 
condition for the reception of their next pastor. Father 
M'Guire remained two years, during which time the con- 
gregation increased more rapidly than ever before, which 
was in a great measure due to the increased facilities for 
travel afforded by the turnpikes. Like his predecessor, he 
did not confine his labors to one congregation, but visited 
many other settlements. Among these were Pittsburg, to which 
he sometimes came to relieve Father O'Brien, whose health 
was failing. When the latter was at length forced to retire from 
active missionary labor and seek repose. Father M'Guire came 
to Pittsburg in March, 1820, much to the dissatisfaction of the 
people of Westmoreland, whose property he is said to have 
left considerably in debt for improvements. The manner in 
which he had managed the farm also met with their disappro- 
bation, and so strong was it that they determined to have an 
act of the legislature passed constituting a body of lay trustees 
to manage the temporalities in future. Against this Father 
M'Guire got up a counter-petition, but the congregation 
gained the victory ; the act was passed and approved by the 
governor, Joseph Heister, March 7th, 1821. This act is the 
first and, so far as I know, the only one of its kind ever 
passed for the management of the church property in the 
dioceses. It vests the two tracts of Sportsman's Hall and 



^OS THE TRUSTEES. 

O'Neil's Victory in five trustees " and their successors, who 
shall be duly and regularly appointed, according to the rules 
of the said congregation, in trust for the uses mentioned and 
declared in the last will and testament of Reverend Theodore 
Browers, deceased."* Having served for a year, during 
which time Rev. Terence M'Girr became pastor of the con- 
gregation, " At a meeting of the Trustees and Wardens or 
Vestrymen of the Roman Catholic Congregation in Unity 
Township, Westmoreland County, on the first day of May, 
A.D. 1822, It was unanimously adopted and admitted by and 
with the consent and approbation of the Rev. J. M'Girr, their 
clergyman, and also by the consent of the said congregation, 
That trustees or wardens be appointed by ballot on Monday, 
the twenty-seventh inst. . . . That the said trustees be 
duly and regularly elected by ballot on the last Monday in 
May, henceforth and forever in every year."f So it con- 
tinued, although the trustees never (exercise full control. The 
arrival of Father M'Girr dates from the beginning of Lent, 
1 82 1. As the farm was still in the hands of Father M'Guire, 
whose brother occupied the house, Father M'Girr lived for 
some months at Youngstown, a village a short distance east 
of it. When the house was at length vacated, he took posses- 
sion of it and assumed control of the farm without much re- 
gard for trustees or anybody else, his brother being the farmer. 
For some time he was accustomed to pay an occasional visit 
to the Armstrong and Butler county missions, which usually 
occupied him about six weeks. Though zealous in the dis- 
charge of his duties, he was possessed of strange idiosyncra- 
sies, which made his relation with the congregation during 
his pastorate anything but harmonious. In 1822 he built a 
log-church about six miles north-east of Sportsman's Hall, 
which was blessed under the title of Our Lady of Mount 
Carmel, and is yet standing. A petition was sent to the Bishop 
asking to have him transferred to another mission, but it did 
not so much as elicit a reply. Affairs became daily more 
comphcated, and recourse was had to the civil tribunal bv the 



* The act is given in full in " St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 376, 377. 
f St. Vincenz, etc., pp. 377, 378. 



REV. J AS. A. STILLENGER. 369 

trustees, September, 1826, to dispossess a man to whom Father 
M'Girr had leased the farm. The verdict was given in their 
favor on September 3d,, 1829, but Father M'Girr immediately 
appealed to the Supreme Court, which, however, affirmed the 
sentence. While at Sportsman's Hall Father M'Girr minis- 
tered to the laborers on that part of the canal that traversed 
Westmoreland County, which added considerably to his duties. 
After having encountered many difficulties — which, it must be 
admitted, he in a great measure brought upon himself, but in 
which Dr. GalHtzin both as his friend and as Vicar-General 
stood by him — he retired to the mountain country about the 
close of the year 1829 and joined his illustrious supporter. 
When Bishop Kenrick was appointed administrator of the 
diocese, Dr. Gallitzin interposed in Father M'Girr's behalf, 
but only with partial success, and in 1837 the latter retired to 
the vicinity of Cameron Bottom church, where he died in 
1856. His remains were interred in the cemetery at Ebens- 
burg. 

Some time after the withdrawal of Father M'Girr, Rev. 
Jas. A. Stillenger was appointed pastor, a man who figured 
more conspicuously than any other in the history of the church 
in Westmoreland and Indiana counties. His arrival does 
not, however, date from the winter of 1829, as the author of 
" St Vincenz in Pennsylvanien" (p. 83) states, for he was not 
ordained until February 28th, 1830, and Bishop Kenrick, by 
whom he was sent, was not consecrated until June 6th of the 
same year. He arrived on the 28th of November, 1830, as I 
have frequently heard him say, and as is stated in a manu- 
script of his now before me. The anomalous state of affairs at 
Sportsman's Hall for some years previous offered a plea, if 
not a justification, for the act of incorporation constituting the 
trustees. But the system is radically opposed to the spirit of 
the Church and is well calculated to produce mischief. Nor 
could two persons be more unlike than Father M'Girr and 
Father Stillenger ; for while the former was impulsive by 
nature and singular in his manner, the latter was prudent and 
gentle, but possessing withal a degree of firmness that en- 
abled him to maintain his position with dignity and to pass 
safely through trying circumstances. A more suitable per- 



370 THE BISHOP AND THE TRUSTEES. 

son could not have been found. At the time of his arrival the 
trustees had all in their own hands, and evinced a disposition 
not only to manage the temporalities with a degree of self-will 
that too often characterizes that class of persons ; they Avished 
also to control the pastor to an extent that would deprive him 
of the freedom of action necessary for one in his exalted posi- 
tion. They made a mistake too common among even well- 
mformed Catholics — that of imagining that church property 
belongs to the congregation. It belongs not to the people, 
but to the Church. It is given to Christ in his mystic 
body for the. use of that body, and, like the Church her- 
self, is to be administered by those whom the Holy Ghost, 
in the words of St. Paul, has appointed to rule. Hear- 
ing of the erroneous views of the trustees. Bishop Kenrick 
wrote to them on the 24th of August, 1831, to point out 
their error and remind them- that the property did not belong 
to the congregation and had not been purchased b}^ the money 
of the people, but was the free gift of Rev. Theodore Browers 
for the support of the priest who should for the time be the 
lawfully appointed pastor. While admitting that the act of in- 
corporation served to preserve the property from loss at a 
time when there was no pastor, he declared that the will of 
the testator must be carried out to the letter, and that if 
Father Stillenger were not permitted to manage the propert}^ 
he could not allow him to remain. A meeting of the con- 
gregation was called May 28th, 1832, the day of the annual 
election of trustees, when it was " decided by vote that there 
should not be any more election of trustees, but that it should 
go by appointment, and that it should rest with the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop and the pastor to make the appointments."* This 
agreement was signed by sixty-six persons. May not this be 
taken as the number of heads of families in the congregation 
at that time, as it is probable that for the transaction of busi- 
ness so important all who could do so would attend ? The 
skill with which Father Stillenger managed the affairs of the 
congregation had much to do with the happy settlement of 
these difficulties. No further change took place until the ar- 
rival of the Benedictine fathers. 

^ Minutes of the Meeting, " St. Vincenz," etc., pp. 84, 85, 380. 



THE FIRST CONFIRMATION, 



371 



The Bishop had in the mean time paid a visit to Western 
Pennsylvania and stopped among other places at Blairsville 
and Sportsman's Hall, both of which were under the care of 
Father Stillenger. A correspondent of the U. S. Cath. Mis- 
cellany oi September 24th,. 1831, says: '' On the 23d of August 
the Bishop took his departure from Blairsville to Sportsman's 
Hall. On his arrival there, there were about 100 children al- 
ready collected for instruction and prepared for confession. 
The whole afternoon was occupied with the children, as well as 
the forenoon of the next day until half past ten. One hundred 
and five were confirmed and between sixty and seventy re- 
ceived Holy Communion." A fuller notice of the life and 
labors of Father Stillenger will be found in the history of the 
Church at Blairsville, where he closed his long and edifying 
career. There it will be seen that he celebrated the Floly 
Sacrifice alternately at Sportsman's Hall and Blairsville after 
the church had been built in the latter place, except at such 
times as he was obliged to give a wider range to his mission- 
ary labors. 

The harmony resulting from the adjustment of the diffi- 
culties of the trustees enabled Father Stillenger to undertake 
necessary improvements. In the summer of 1833 he proposed 
to the congregation to build a brick church and a pastoral 
residence, a proposition to which they readily acceded. A 
subscription was immediately opened, upon which nearly 
$4000 was soon paid and the contract for the work was let, 
the cost of the church being fixed at $6600 and the house at 
$2600. The former was completed in the summer of 1835, and 
was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick on the 19th of July. It was 
the custom of the Bishop to name the churches which he dedi- 
cated after the saint whose feast was that day celebrated, and 
hence this church was placed under the invocation of St. Vin- 
cent of Paul. The place lost from that date its name of 
" Sportsman's Hall " and has since been known as " St. Vin- 
cent's," although in the neighborhood it was for a long time 
called " the Hill Church," from the gentle eminence on the 
side of which it stands. The sum of $4373.23 was still due on 
the building at the time of the dedication, for the payment of 
which the trustees gave security. The church was about Zj 



372 



THE NEW CHURCH. 



feet in lengtn by 5 1 in width, simple in point of style, and was 
surmounted b}^ a belfry. Changes have been made since its 
erection which will be noticed as we proceed. But it was 
soon found th2.t the contractor had not done his work properly ; 
both the foundation and the building were defective, and a 
balance of about S1400 still due was withheld for damages. 
A lawsuit was the result ; but it was finally decided in favor 
of the congregation in August, 1843. 

In September, 1844, Father Stillenger transferred his resi- 
dence to Blairsville, but continued to divide his attention be- 
tvvreen the two churches until about^the close of the following 
year, when Rev. Michael Gallagher was appointed resident 
pastor of St. Vincent's. But an event of greater importance 
was about to transpire than had as yet marked the history 
of the congregation — the foundation of the first house of the 
venerable Benedictine Order in the New World north of 
Mexico. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

WESTMORELAND COUNTY (CONTINUED) — THE BENEDICTINE 
ORDER AT ST. VINCENT'S. 

Departure of the Benedictines from Germany and their arrival at St. Vincent's — 
Condition of the place — Taking possession — The first ordination — Spread of 
the Order — St. Vincent's an independent priory — Improvements — A seminary 
and college opened — St. Vincent's an exempt abbey — Further improvements — 
The congregation — Present state of the Order — Church of the Most Holy Sac- 
rament, Greensburg — St. Boniface's Chapel, Chestnut Ridge — St. Vincent's 
Chapel, Youngstovvn — Ligonier — Church of the Holy Family — Bolivar Sta- 
tion — St. Mary's Church, New Florence. 

I SHALL not enter upon the disputed question of the dis- 
covery of America and the occupation of certain parts of the 
New England States, the estabUshment of an episcopal see, 
and the foundation of a house of the Benedictine Order three 
or four centuries prior to the landing of Columbus ; but com- 
ing to a time the events of which are beyond the reach of 
cavil or dispute, I shall briefly sketch the introduction of the 
Benedictines into North America, and their subsequent growth 
and extension ; for although the history of the congregation of 
St. Vincent's is distinct theoretically from the estabhshment of 
the Order there, yet the two are so intimately connected that 
practically it is difficult to separate the one from the other. 

The reader will remember that we stated, in the history of 
the Church at Carrolltown, that in the year 1844 Rev. H. 
Lemcke visited his native land with a view of enlisting Ger- 
man priests for the newly erected Diocese of Pittsburg. 
While there he met at Munich Rev. Boniface Wimmer, a 
monk of the Benedictine monastery of Melten, in Bavaria, 
who for some time had been contemplating the establishment 
of his Order in the United States."^ Father Lemcke offered 

* St. Vincenz, etc., pp. 26 et seq. 



374 'THE BENEDICTINES. 

him his farm of 400 acres of land at Carrolltown for that pur- 
pose, and Father Wimmer, thinking he could not do better than 
accept it, immediately opened a correspondence with the Bishop 
of Pittsburg and offered himself to the new diocese. K propo- 
sition so favorable to the interests of religion was readily ac- 
cepted, whereupon Father Wimmer made preparations to set 
out for America. The good father was highly esteemed, and 
the people of Munich manifested the liveliest interest in the 
contemplated foundation, supplying him with the vestments 
and altar furniture necessary. The Louis Mission Union do- 
nated the handsome sum of 6000 gulden, to which the venera- 
ble Charles Augustus Reisach, Prince-Bishop of Munich, 
added 500 more, besides promising still further pecuniary 
assistance. 

The little band was soon chosen, fitted out, and ready to 
embark on its new mission for the glory of God and the ex- 
tension of his kingdom on earth. There was the leader. Rev. 
Sebastian (in religion Boniface) Wimmer, bom at Thalmas- 
sing, in Bavaria, January 14th, 1809, ordained to the priest- 
hood July 31st, 1 83 1, received into the Benedictine Order 
September 14th, 1832, and admitted to his solemn vows 
December 29th, 1833. ^^ was a man in every respect ad- 
mirably fitted for the arduous mission he was about to 
undertake, and which he has for more than thirty years so 
successfully conducted. With him were four students and 
fourteen lay brothers. At five o'clock in the morning of July 
25th, 1846, all assembled in the church of St. Michael, in 
Munich, to assist at Mass celebrated by the venerable Prince- 
Bishop, and to receive from his hands the Bread of Angels 
to strengthen them against the trials and privations that 
awaited them. From Munich they took cars for Rotterdam, 
where they embarked on board the ship Iowa for New 
York. They landed on the i6th of September, and after re- 
maining in New York three days set out for Carrolltown. 
They did not, however, reach the term of their journey until 
the 30th, for it must not be forgotten that as yet no railway 
traversed the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to facili- 
tate travel. Having notified the Bishop of their arrival, Father 
Wimmer was invited to Pittsburg for an interview. The Bishop 



CONDITION OF ST. VINCENT'S. 375 

rejoiced to see the great Order of St. Benedict about to take 
root in his diocese, but he recommended St. Vincent's as the 
seat of the foundation instead of Carrolltown, and the two set 
out together to examine the spot. Pleased with it, Father 
Wimmer returned to his Uttle band, and on the 1 5th of October 
set out from Carrolltown to the scene of his future labors. 

The better to understand the condition of St. Vincent's at 
that time and the improvements since effected, it will be nec- 
essary to cast a glance at the place as it then appeared. There 
was the church, erected, as we have seen, twelve years be- 
fore, and near it a two-story brick house built about the same 
time. But this was occupied, and had been for about a year, by 
the Sisters of Mercy as a convent and the cradle of St. Xavier's 
Young Ladies' Academy, and must continue to be so occupied 
until the permanent buildings of that institution, situated 
about a mile and a half distant, should be completed. Besides 
these there was a small one-story brick school-house, which 
had been divided into two rooms by a partition. Then there 
was a log-house occupied by the farmer and his family, and a 
miserable log-barn. The farm consisted of 315 acres of splen- 
did farming ground, and the other tract of land, known in the 
beginning as '' O'Neil's Victory," but now familiarly called 
the " Seven-Mile Farm," from it lying that distance east of 
the church, comprising 165 acres and far inferior to the other 
for tillage. Over all hung a debt of $3000. The Bishop 
called a meeting of the congregation, and in the address 
which he delivered on the occasion expressed his desire of 
having Father Boniface — as we shall now call him — establish 
a priory there. The people were delighted with the idea, and 
promised to do all in their power to second the undertaking. 
It was agreed that the Sisters should withdraw to their new 
home as soon as it could be made ready to receive them, 
which, however, would not be for some months ; that the 
pastor, Father Gallagher, should remain to minister to the 
Enghsh portion of the congregation until a priest of the Order 
should have learned that language, and that arrangements 
should be made with regard to the transfer of the property. 
Having maturely weighed the respective claims of the two 
places, Carrolltown and St. Vincent's, Father Boniface deter- 



376 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BENEDICTINES. 

mined to establish himself at the latter. Returning to Carroll- 
town, he departed for his new home much to the regret of the 
good villagers, who had hoped that he would remain with them. 
But if the good father and his companions had by vow em- 
braced a life of poverty, they soon found that for a time at 
least that virtue must become a necessity with them. The 
school-house already mentioned must serve for the present for 
the entire community and afford, besides, a suit of rooms for 
the pastor. But as if nothing should be wanting in their sacri- 
fices, the house being new was not yet plastered nor was the 
roof finished. Mattresses laid on the floor of the low attic or 
garret constituted the dormitory of the brothers and students. 
One of the rooms of the main story served the multifarious 
purposes of kitchen, refectory, community or chapter room, 
and infirmary for a member of the community then sick. The 
other room was divided into two apartments, the one of which 
served as a sleeping-chamber for the pastor and superior, the 
other was the study-hall of the students. Possession was taken 
on the 19th of October. But it was not until the 24th of the 
same month that Father Boniface, the Superior and only 
priest in the little band, gave the rehgious habit to the mem- 
bers of the community, w^ho until then had been only candi- 
dates. The observance of the rule in all its details was from 
that time enforced, and the day is celebrated as that of the es- 
tablishment of the Benedictine Order in North America. 

But so indifferently were the members of the community 
protected from the inclemency of the weather that I have 
heard one of them state that when it rained at meal-time one 
would be deputed to hold an umbrella over the table to pro- 
tect it from the drops that penetrated the roof. Such were 
the beginnings of an abbey, seminary, and college that are noAV 
capable of accommodating five hundred monks and students, 
and whose ramifications have penetrated into eighteen States 
of the Union. 

On the 5th of November of the same year the Bishop ap- 
pointed the Father Superior pastor of the congregation for 
the time being, and thus confirmed him for the present in 
possession of the property. He at the same time expressed 
his willingness to make the Superior of the Order the per.- 



THE FIRST ORDINATIONS. 377 

petual pastor of the congregation as soon as the latter was 
prepared to accept it and was in a condition to assume in 
perpetuity the discharge of the duties connected with it. He 
also empowered him to establish priories in the diocese, and 
to open a seminary and college as soon as circumstances per- 
mitted. Thus was the wish of Rev. Theodore Browers, the 
generous donor of the property, more than realized, who had 
frequently been heard to say, '' My object is to make Sports- 
man's Hall another Conewago." Father Gallagher withdrew 
at the end of six months, but for several years, probably six, 
the chaplain of St. Xavier's convent and academy or the pas- 
tor of Greensburg was accustomed to visit the congregation 
twice in the month for the benefit of the English por- 
tion. On the 7th of March, 1847, Mr. Martin Geyerstanger 
(Father Charles) was ordained, being the first priest of the 
Benedictine Order to be raised to that sacred dignity in North 
America. May 14th of the same year the Sisters took pos- 
session of their new convent and academy buildings of St. 
Xavier's, and gave the house which they had occupied till 
that time to the Superior. The greater part of the com- 
munity was immediately transferred to it. 

But it was not long before the Father Superior began to 
show that enterprising spirit which so admirably fitted him 
for the field upon which he had entered. Soon he extended 
his ministrations to the little congregations of Saltzburg and 
Indiana, in the latter of which he established a priory, and to 
St. Mary's, Elk County, now in the Diocese of Erie. But at 
home he was beset with innumerable and apparently insur- 
mountable difficulties arising from the poverty of the com- 
munity and the necessity of making improvements in the 
property. The members of the Order increased, both by ac- 
cessions at home and arrivals from Europe ; and the Louis 
Mission Union, that had so generously aided him in the be- 
ginning, still made him remittances until he had attained a 
degree of independence. But before commencing to build, 
the Order must be confirmed in its possession of the property. 
The appointment of the Superior perpetual pastor of the con- 
gregation, and the consequent transfer of the property to the 
Benedictine Order in perpetuity, was made by the Bishop in 



378 IMPROVEMENTS. 

an instrument dated February 15th, 1848. Soon after this 
the Superior laid the condition of the foundation before the 
Holy Father, and asked that it might be declared an inde- 
pendent priory. The request was granted, and the Superior, 
or Prior as he now became, was empoAvered to erect other 
priories in different parts of the country, after he should obtain 
permission from the respective Bishops of the places. But it 
was not until July 15th, 1852, that St. Vincent's was formally 
recognized as a non-exempt priory by Bishop O'Connor.* An 
addition to the building was commenced by the brothers 
September 29th, 1848. On the 20th of April of the following 
year three of the students who had accompanied the Superior 
from Germany were ordained priests. At the same time a 
seminary was commenced on a small scale. At the close of 
this year the community consisted of eight priests, seven 
clerics, and twenty-six lay brothers. A farm of 293 acres, 
lying on the Chestnut ridge, about eight miles south-east of 
the priory, was purchased principally on account of the tim- 
ber with which it was covered. In 185 1 the Prior visited 
Germany, where he received very considerable pecuniary as- 
sistance to further his good works in the cause of religion. 
St. Vincent's College was opened in 1849. By the year 1854 
it had ninety students ; additional buildings were required for 
their accommodation, and were erected. To secure to the 
Order the possession of the property and give the former a 
proper standing in the face of the law, a charter was obtained 
from the State Legislature May loth, 1853. In December of 
the same year the Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Bedini, visited the 
monastery, and on his arrival at Pittsburg raised three mem- 
bers of the Order to the sacred dignity of the priesthood. 
The better to secure the independence of the community, a 
saw-mill and a flour-mill were built in 1854, and at the same 
time a farm of 205 acres of land lying ten miles from the 
monastery was purchased. But it would require too much 
space to trace the gradual growth of so large and complete a 
" little world " as St. Vincent's. A few only of the leading 
features must suffice. 

* St. Vincenz, etc., pp. 128, 129. 



ST. VINCENT'S AN ABBE Y 379 

In 1855 the Prior visited Rome once more to lay the affairs 
of the Order before the Holy Father. But the most important 
result of his visit was that he succeeded in having St. Vin- 
cent's raised to the dignity of an exempt abbey with himself 
as mitred Abbot, having been appointed by the Pope to that 
dignity for a term of three years, after which the Abbot should 
be elected according to the provisions of the rule. The brief 
of the Holy Father raising St. Vincent's to the dignity of an 
abbey was dated August 24th, and that appointing the father 
Abbot September 17th. Father Wimmer was the second 
mitered Abbot in the United States, Rt. Rev. Father Maria 
Eutropius, of the Abbey of Our Lady of La Trappe, Ky., hav- 
ing been raised to that dignity some time before. The follow- 
ing statistics will show the rapid growth and spread of the 
Benedictine Order in the first nine years of its existence 
among us : There were twenty priests, of whom two were 
at Butler, three at Carrolltown, one at Indiana, two at St. 
Mary's, Elk County, two at St. Severin's, Clarion County (the 
last two in the Diocese of Erie), and ten at St. Vincent's. 
There were fifteen clerics, twenty-two novices, seven scholas- 
tics, and one hundred and twelve lay brothers — in all 176 souls. 

The adjuncts of the abbey and college gradually appeared 
and the whole developed itself into a perfect organization. In 
1858 a brewery was built to supply the community with its 
favorite German beverage, which soon found its way also into 
the market, and made a name for itself. In 1864 a printing- 
press was set up, and soon a photographing apparatus found a 
place among the improvements. A tannery was also built. 
Additions were made from time to time to the buildings of 
the abbey and college. In 1878 an immense brick barn was 
put up, the largest in the county. 

The Abbot again visited Rome in 1865, when the Holy 
Father was so well pleased with the progress made by the 
Order under his wise and energetic management that he ap- 
pointed him General, or President, of all the houses of the 
Order in the United States for life. But after his death the 
election of Abbot will be according to the provisions of the 
rule. While in Rome the abbot also made arrangements for 
the opening of a house in the Holy City, where students should 



380 SPREAD OF THE ORDER. 

be prepared to fill the position of professors afterwards in the 
college. It was, however, discontinued after the occupation 
of Rome in 1870. By an apostoUc brief of August 3d, 1866, 
the priory at St. Cloud's, Minn., was made an abbey, and Rev. 
Rupert Seidenbush, the present Vicar Apostolic of North- 
ern Minnesota, was named Abbot. He was consecrated on the 
1 2th of the following December. In 1869 the Abbot again 
crossed the Atlantic to visit his native land and to be present 
at the Vatican Council. 

During this time the congregation had been in the fullest 
enjoyment of all the advantages which the presence of a large 
number of the reverend clergy in their midst naturally afford- 
ed. It had undergone, however, but little change beyond a 
moderate increase. Other congregations were formed from 
its outskirts which drew away a part of its numbers, so that at 
present it counts but 750 souls. There is a parochial school 
attached to the abbey, and one also at St. Xavier's Academy. 

From the humble beginnings which we have seen, when the 
pioneer members of the Order found it difficult to procure 
the most miserable lodgings, the abbey has grown to be one 
of the most important religious foundations in America. The 
main building, including the seminary, college, and monas- 
tery, forms a quadrangle about four hundred feet in length 
by two hundred in width, with the church running across the 
centre the shorter way, A part of one end of the quadrangle 
is unfinished as yet, but will be completed in a few months. 
The church has been enlarged at the ends so as to join the 
other buildings ; and a number of chapels have also been 
formed in an addition to the side. A tall tower has also been 
constructed, and the interior has undergone renovation. Al- 
though struggling from the first and until lately with formida- 
ble difficulties, the career of the institution in all its depart- 
ments has been one of constant success. The following will 
give an idea of the growth of the Order. There are now 
three abbeys : St. Vincent's, raised to the dignity of an abbey 
August 24th, 1855 ; St. Louis of the Lake, Stearns County, 
Mmn., August 3d, 1866; St. Benedict's, Atchison City, Kan- 
sas, September 29th, 1876; and St. Malachy's Priory, Union 
County, Iowa, 1871. To sum up, we have the following: two 



, GREENSBURG. 381 

Bishops, three Abbots, one hundred and thirty-four priests, 
seven deacons, fourteen subdeacons, twenty-nine clerics, eigh- 
teen novices, one hundred and sixty-seven brothers, one hun- 
dred and fifty-seven other alumni of the Order; and about 
four hundred students, besides, attending their colleges. The 
Order is distributed into four monasteries, eleven priories, 
thirty-three expositurce, or houses where priests reside having 
charge of congregations, forty-two stations, and six colleges 
and high-schools. They are, in fine, located in ninety-five 
places, these being in eighteen different States of the Union, 
in fifteen dioceses and three vicariates apostolic, and they have 
charge of well-nigh 40,000 souls. 

The career of the seminary and college of St. Vincent's 
has been equally prosperous with that of the Order. Notwith- 
standing that additions have been made to the college build- 
ings from time to time, the reputation which it has acquired 
for itself and the pains that are constantly taken to provide a 
numerous and efficient staff of professors have drawn as large 
a number of students as the buildings are capable of accom- 
modating. After meeting with considerable opposition, the 
faculty succeeded in obtaining from the Legislature the right 
of conferring degrees, by an act dated April 29th, 1871. 

Truly the mustard-seed has grown and has become a large 
tree.'^' The good work has not, however, ceased, but, on the 
contrary, is being pushed forward with increased activity, and 
the venerable Abbot, although in his 71st year, yet displays 
all the energy of youth. A most estimable man, he has the 
best wishes of all for the success of his noble undertakings. 

Turn we now to the congregations formed from the parent 
stem ;• and first to Greensburg. 

CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT, GREENSBURG.f 

Greensburg, the county-seat of Westmoreland County, is 
situated in a country place on the line of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, thirty-one miles east of Pittsburg, at the junction of 

* Compiled from Catalogus Exhibens Nomina Monachorum Ord. S. P. Bene 
dicii, etc., 1879. 

f St. Vincenz, etc. ; Catalogus, etc. ; and Day's Historical Collections. 



382 THE CHURCH AT GREENSBURG. 

the South-western Railroad. It is also on the line of the 
Philadelphia and Pittsburg turnpike. It was laid out in 1782, 
incorporated in February, 1799, and had in 1870 a population 
of 1642. Here in the Presbyterian Cemetery repose the re- 
mains of General Arthur St. Clair of Revolutionary fame. 

As regards the Catholic history of the place, it is unusually 
interesting. Here the first property was owned by the Church 
in Western Pennsylvania, and the first church was undertaken, 
although it was not destined to be finished. In March, 1789, 
the Catholic pioneers purchased one acre and twenty perches 
of land for a church and cemetery at a cost of five shillings, as 
we have seen. In the spring of the following year the erection 
of a log-church was commenced. Carpenters were scarce, and 
those to be had were not adepts in the trade. But architectural 
taste had not as yet attained a high degree of refinement, and 
people were easily satisfied. Four walls, a floor, and a roof 
were quite sufficient. The church was so far completed as to 
provide these, with the exception of part of the roof, when 
Father Browers died and disturbances began to mar the har- 
mony of the Httle flock. Nothing further was done until after 
the arrival of Father Heilbron, who, in 1 800, resolved to finish 
the long-standing edifice. But upon examination the logs of 
which it was built were found to be rotting, and a beginning 
must be made, if made at all, from the ground. The unfinished ^ 
building, without the lot upon which it stood, was sold, and so j 
matters remained for forty-five years. In the summer of 1846, | 
however, the Catholic population of the town and environs ' 
had so far increased as to make it desirable to have a church. 
One was accordingly undertaken, but by whom has not been \ 
ascertained. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop June i 
9th of that year, but the building was not ready for dedica- 
tion before the middle of December, 1847. It was then dedi- [ 
cated under the title of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The ' 
church is a brick building of simple style and finish, and has a 
steeple rising from the centre m front. It stands on the lot pur- 
chased by the original settlers, on a gentle hill to the north of 
the tunnel by which the railroad passes under a portion of the 
town. It was at first attended from the abbey, nine miles dis- 
tant, Mass being celebrated at first on one Sunday in the 



ST. BONIFACE'S CHAPEL. 383 

month, but soon after on every Sunday. About the year 185 1, 
when the railroad was in course of construction, Rev. W. 
Pollard, a secular priest, was appointed pastor ; and he ap- 
pears to have been the only secular priest who exercised the 
functions of the sacred ministry regularly for the people, al- 
though from the beginning the chaplain of St. Xavier's Con- 
vent had at times visited the church to minister to the Eng- 
lish-speaking portion of the flock. But in 1853 it reverted to 
the Benedictine fathers, with whom it has since remained. In 
1854 Rev. Aug. Wirth, O.S.B., who was then pastor, built 
a residence near the church, and about the same time put up a 
frame school-house in which a school was opened and has 
since been conducted by a lay teacher. Little change marked 
the flight of time, and the growth of the congregation was al- 
most imperceptible. But many of the descendants of the 
original settlers have unhappily lost the faith, and have gone 
to swell the ranks of heresy or infidelity. Additional lots 
were at some time purchased adjoining the original tract. At 
length Father Wirth returned in 1876, after an absence of 
nearly twenty years, during which he had labored in different 
parts of the West. His first care was to enlarge the church 
by an addition to the rear, making it 92 feet in length by 30 
in width. The interior was also submitted to a course of 
renovation which added no little to its appearance. In the 
summer of 1878 he replaced the school-house by a brick 
building. No further improvements will be required for 
many years. 

The congregation is and has always been mixed, German 
and Enghsh ; but the former element has constantly pre- 
dominated. Its future growth will be extremely slow. At 
present it numbers only two hundred and fifty souls, with 
thirty children in the school. 

ST. BONIFACE'S CHAPEL, CHESTNUT RIDGE. 

In the fall of 1850 the prior of St. Vincent's purchased, as 
we have already seen, a farm of 293 acres on the Chestnut 
ridge, about seven miles east of the abbey. Additional pur- 
chases were made at different times afterwards, until the Order 



384 



ST. VINCENT'S CHAPEL. 



owns at present about 735 acres there. Buildings were soon 
after put up for the accommodation of the brothers who 
work on the farm, and for the professors of the college, who 
are accustomed to spend part of the summer vacation in this 
quiet retreat. Mass was celebrated in a private chapel from 
time to time, and at length — the precise date has not been as- 
certained — a little stone public chapel was built. Here Mass 
is celebrated on two Sundays in the month for the few 
Catholics living in the vicinity, whose number is now estimated 
at sixty souls. The future prospects of the little flock are not 
flattering. 

ST. VINCENT'S CHAPEL, YOUNGSTOWN. 

Youngstown is situated on the Pittsburg and Bedford 
turnpike, eleven miles east of Greensburg and about two miles 
from the abbey. It dates from the commencement of the 
present century, and is one of the many villages that owe their 
origin to these public thoroughfares. Like the others it 
flourished while these roads were the medium of communica- 
tion between distant cities, but sank into comparative insigni- 
ficance when travel and traffic were diverted into other chan- 
nels. As an evidence of this Youngstown had a population of 
415 in 1840, while in 1870 it had but 301. 

A little brick chapel was built here by the Benedictine 
fathers about ten years ago — the date is uncertain — and like the 
parent church was placed under the patronage of St. Vincent 
of Paul. It cannot be said with propriety to have a congrega- 
tion, but must rather be regarded as an outpost of the abbey 
church, built for the better accommodation of a portion of the 
parish. 

CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, LIGONIER. 

Ligonier Valley lies between the Laurel ridge on the east and 
the Chestnut ridge on the west, and is eight or ten miles wide. 
The village of Ligonier is in the valley about seventeen miles 
south-east of Greensburg, and is rich in historical reminiscen- 
ces. While the army led by General Forbes against Fort 
Duquesne in 1758 was detained at Bedford, Colonel Bouquet 



LIGONIER. 385 

pushed forward with 2500 men in July toward the Loyalhanna 
River, cutting his way through the forests as he advanced. 
While in the Ligonier Valley, which he did not reach until Oc- 
tober, awaiting intelligence from Major Grant, whom he had de- 
spatched with 800 men to make a forced march to Fort Duquesne 
to surprise it, but who was himself surprised and defeated, 
Col. Bouquet was attacked by a considerable force of French 
and Indians. Having with great difficulty repelled the attack, 
he threw up an entrenchment to protect the large amount of 
stores collected there, and this entrenchment afterwards took 
the name of Fort Ligonier.* The place is named in honor of 
Viscount Ligonier of Enniskillen, son of a French Huguenot, 
Commander-in-Chief of the land forces of Great Britain. The 
early settlers were often compelled to seek refuge within the 
fort from the frequent incursions of the Indians. The old fort 
offered the only secure resting-place of any importance in all 
the country east of the fortifications at Pittsburg. Two miles 
north of the village of Ligonier, at a point called Hermitage, 
stands a portion of the house built by General St. Clair. All 
that now remains of the old mansion is one room, which was 
used as a parlor by the general and his family one hundred 
years ago. In time a village sprung up around the ruins of 
the old fort, but it was not regularly laid out until 1825. It 
was incorporated as a borough April loth, 1834, and had in 
1840 a population of 294. This had risen to no more than 
317 in 1870. Soon after that date a narrow-gauge railroad was 
built, connecting the village with the Pennsylvania Railroad 
at Latrobe, thus affording a ready market for the timber in 
which the valley and the ridges abound. For a few years the 
population increased rapidly, but the depression of the times 
arrested its growth and brought it back to something of its 
former monotony. 

A few Catholics were found among the first settlers in the 
valley, but as they lived only ten or twelve miles from St. 
Vincent's, they were able, with a little exertion — such as 
people were not afraid to make in those early days — to assist 
occasionally at Mass. At length it was deemed advisable to 
build a church in the village, and it was accordingly under- 

* Day's Historical Collections, p. 68i. 



386 BOLIVAR— NEW FLORENCE. 

taken under the direction of one of the Benedictine fathers 
from St. Vincent's, in 1854. When finished it was dedicated, 
under the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity, by one of the 
same fathers November 25th, 1855. The church is small and 
simple in style, as the wants and means of the people required 
it to be. It was then visited from the abbey once or twice in 
the month, as it still continues to be visited. The congrega- 
tion, if such it can be called, is still very small and numbers 
at present but forty-seven souls, having diminished a little in 
the last few years. Its future prospects are not flattering. 

BOLIVAR STATION. 

The village of Bolivar is situated on the southern bank of 
the Conemaugh River and on the line of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, fifty-five miles east of Pittsburg. It owes its rise to 
the railroad, is noted for the manufacture of fire-brick, and it 
had in 1870 a population of 298. About three years ago one 
of the Benedictine fathers began to visit the place once a 
month and say Mass in a private room for the few Catholics 
then found in the village, and the same arrangement continues 
and will probably continue for many years. The number of 
Catholics at present is but thirty-four. 

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, NEW FLORENCE. 

Nine miles east of Bolivar and similarly situated is New 
Florence, which had in 1870 a population of 333. Catholics 
were among the first to make their appearance in the village ; 
and in 1854 Rev. James Kearney, then pastor of the English 
church at Johnstown, commenced the erection of a church. 
It was finished at the end of that year, and was dedicated by 
Very Rev. E. M'Mahon, V.G., January 14th, 1855. The 
church is a brick building of simple style and finish, and is 
quite small. Until recently it was visited twice in the month 
from Johnstown ; but about three years ago it passed under 
the jurisdiction of the Benedictine fathers of St. Vincent's, 
and so it remains. At present the congregation numbers but 
82 souls, and its future increase will in all probability be as 
gradual as its past has been. 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

WESTMORELAND COUNTY (CONCLUDED)— INDIANA COUNTY. 

Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel — St. Martin's Church, New Derry — Church 
of the Holy Family, Latrobe — St. Boniface's Church, Penn — Church of St. 
Mary of the Assumption, Irwin — Suterville Mission — Smithton Mission. 
Indiana County — St. Patrick's Church, Cameron Bottom — Church of the 
Seven Dolors, Strongstown — St. Bernard's Church, Indiana — Blairsville — 
Sts. Simon and Jude's Church — Death and sketch of Very Rev. J. A. Stil- 
lenger — St. Matthew's Church, Saltzburg. 

CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL. 

This church is situated in a country place about five miles 
north-east of Latrobe. It is built of hewn logs, and was 
erected by Rev. Terence M'Girr in 1821 for the accommoda- 
tion of the few Catholic farmers residing in the vicinity. The 
building is quite small, being no more perhaps than 20 by 30 
feet, with a little recess for the altar. The spot is lonely, and 
the burying-ground around the church, where ''the rude 
forefathers of the hamlet sleep," seems a fit resting-place for 
the departed. Father M'Girr visited the place occasionally 
during his residence at Sportsman's Hall, and after his de- 
parture his successor, Rev. Jas. A. Stillenger, did the same 
for many years. But these visits were seldom more frequent 
than once in two months. There are a few acres of land at- 
tached to the church, but owing to some flaw in the title Bishop 
Kenrick, who visited it soon after his consecration, would not 
dedicate the building. It is only a few years since the deed was 
executed in proper form. Since the erection of the church at 
New Derry, four miles distant, in 1856, Mt. Carmel has not 
been visited more than three or four times in the year ; but 
it has always since that time been under the jurisdiction of 
the pastor of the latter place. The church can hardly be said 



388 ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, DERRY. 

to have a congregation, for the Masses that are offered up are 
principally for the benefit of the aged of that portion of the 
parish who would find it difficult at some seasons of the year 
to go to Derry to receive the sacraments. The pastor of Derry 
had the church repaired in 1878, but notwithstanding the im- 
provements it is but a relic of the past, and its bare walls and 
rafters, the absence of pews, and the box-like altar carry the 
mind back to the early days of Catholicity, when wealth and 
taste were both wanting. Its lot in the future will doubtless 
be what it has been in the past. 



ST. martin's church, new derry. 

New Derry, or Derry as it is more commonly called, is 
situated on one of the old State turnpikes, about four miles 
north-east of Latrobe, and is about the size of an ordinary 
country village in an advanced state of decadence. Soon 
after the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad a small num- 
ber of Catholics families began to settle at Derry, an impor- 
tant station on the line at the summit of the Chestnut ridge, 
and one and a half miles south of the village of New Derry. 
As the old Mount Carmel Church stood north of the centre 
of the congregation and the railroad station south of it, a 
compromise was effected by building a church at New 
Derry, It was erected in 1856, and was dedicated, under 
the invocation of St. Martin, by Bishop O'Connor on the 
17th of September of that year. It was a small brick buildmg 
without a steeple, but was large enough to accommodate the 
congregation, w^hich was said at that time to consist of about 
sixty families, nearly all of whom were farmers. It was built 
under the direction of the Benedictine fathers of St. Vin- 
cent's, under whose jurisdiction it remained until transferred 
to Rev. Jerome Kearney, of Latrobe, in June, 1861. He con- 
tinued to offer up the Holy Sacrifice in both the church at 
Latrobe and that at Derry every Sunday, giving to each an 
alternate early and late Mass, until the fall of 1873, when the 
congregations had so far increased as to require separate pas- 
tors. Father Kearney then confined his attention exclusively 



LA TROBE. 389 

to Latrobe, and Rev. John A. Martin was appointed first 
resident pastor of New Derry. 

But the congregation had been gradually increasing prior 
to that time,especially by Catholics in the employ of the railroad 
company and others engaged in business settling at Derry 
station, so that in 1869 Father Kearney had found it necessary 
to enlarge the church. This he did by adding considerably 
to its length. It was otherwise improved in the interior, and 
when completed was dedicated by the Bishop on the 3d of 
August of the same year. Soon after his arrival, Father Mar- 
tin built a neat frame residence. The congregation has gone 
on gradually increasing and will number at present about one 
hundred and ten families. But this increase has been for the 
most part at Derry station, and the people there are anxious 
to have a church for themselves. No effective movement has 
yet been made in that direction, but it is probable that it will 
not long be deferred, for that place is destined, in the nature 
of things, to grow more or less rapidly, while the rest of the 
congregation will remain as it is. There can be no doubt 
that in a few years there will be a church, residence, and 
school — for as yet there is no school — at Derry station, 
from which the present church will be visited as a station. 
About the middle of March, 1879, Father Martin was trans- 
ferred to another congregation, and was succeeded by Rev. 
Jeremiah O'Callaghan. The congregation consists of farmers, 
persons employed by the railroad company, and a few coal- 
miners at a point a short distance east of Derry. 

CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY, LATROBE. 

The borough of Latrobe is situated on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, forty-one miles east of Pittsburg, and owes its 
rise and whatever trade it enjoys to that road. The 
population in 1870 was 1 127, and it has since been steadily 
increasing. Soon after the construction of the railroad, 
a number of Catholic families began to settle in the incipi- 
ent town, but for the present they complied with their 
religious duties at St. Vincent's, two miles distant. At 
this time a certain CathoHc gentleman, whose name is with- 



390 CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY. 

held at his own request, donated a large and very eligible lot 
of ground for a church and cemetery. Seeing the future 
prospects of the town, Bishop O'Connor, by a letter dated 
June 13th, 1855, authorized the building of a church to be for 
the present under the jurisdiction of the chaplain of St. 
Xavier's. Work was not, however, commenced until the fol- 
lowing summer, when Rev. James O'Connor, brother of the 
Bishop, took it in hand. He was succeeded in November of 
the same year by Rev. James Keogh, D.D. The church when 
finished was dedicated to the Holy Family by Very Rev. E. 
M'Mahon, V.G., on the i8th of January, 1857. It was a brick 
building 60 feet in length by 40 in width. When Dr. Keogh 
was transferred to the diocesan seminary in October of the 
same year, Rev. John Hackett became chaplain of St. Xavier's 
and pastor of Latrobe. But failing health soon obliged him 
to retire for a time to an easier mission, and he was succeeded 
May 5th, 1858, by Rev. Jerome Kearney, whose tenure of 
ofhce was destined to be more lasting. He was the first to 
reside at Latrobe, although he retained the chaplaincy of St. 
Xavier's. At that time the congregation consisted of thirty- 
five families. In June, 1861, the church at New Derry was 
placed under the jurisdiction of the pastor of Latrobe, who in 
September was relieved of the chaplaincy of the convent and 
academy. In the same year a frame school-house 23 by 34 
feet was built, and a school opened by a lay teacher. The 
congregation sustained a heavy loss February 4th, 1863, in 
having the church blown down by a storm. A meeting was 
immediately called to take measures for rebuilding it, and 
in the mean time the Holy Sacrifice was offered up in the 
school-house. But the growth and the future prospects of 
the congregation showed the propriety of making the new 
church larger than the old had been. The old walls yet 
standing were used as far as they were considered safe, and 
an addition of 22 feet was put to the length of the church, 
making it 82 feet in length by 40 in width. It was dedicated 
by the Bishop September 6th, 1863. It is modelled after the 
Gothic style of architecture, with the ceiling rising gently 
from the side walls towards the centre. There are three 
altars. A neat brick residence was finished in March, 1864. 



PENN. ^ 391 

Three years later it became necessary to enlarge the school- 
house. In April, 1868, the schools passed into the hands of 
the Sisters of Mercy, two of whom come daily from St. 
Xavier's. In the same year a steeple was built to the front 
centre of the church. The size to which the congregations of 
New Derry and Latrobe had grown made it expedient to 
separate them and appoint a distinct pastor to each, and 
while Father Kearney remained at the latter Rev. John A. 
Martin was appointed to the former in the fall of 1873. A 
splendid brick school-house, consisting of two rooms for the 
children on the first floor and a spacious hall on the second, 
replaced the old one some time in the same year. In Decem- 
ber a few acres of ground were purchased adjoining that upon 
which the church stands. 

At length, after having ministered to the congregation for 
more than twenty years, Father Kearney was transferred to 
St. Bridget's Church, Pittsburg, December 6th, 1877, and was 
succeeded by Rev. Jas. Holland. But on the 20th of the fol- 
lowing June he gave place to Rev. S. Wall. Nor was his 
pastorate destined to be much longer than that of his im- 
mediate predecessor ; for, being appointed pastor of St. Pat- 
rick's Church, Pittsburg, in the middle of May, 1879, the 
congregation was confided to Rev. Jas. Canivan, the present 
incumbent. 

Since the financial panic of 1873 the congregation has in- 
creased but little, if at all ; and it will number at present 
about one hundred families, with the prospect of a very 
gradual increase in the future. 

ST. BONIFACE'S CHURCH, PENN. 

Penn borough, or Penn Station as it is commonly called, 
is on the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, twenty-six miles 
east of Pittsburg, and it had, in 1870 a population of 820. It 
owes its existence to the railroad and to the very extensive 
coal-mines operated there. German Catholics settled in the 
vicinity long before the erection of a church, this being to 
some extent a part of the original Westmoreland County 
settlement. Before the erection of a church they heard Mass 



392 



ST. BONIFACE'S CHURCH. 



at Greensburg-, which is only five miles distant. At length 
the mines were opened and the number of Catholics so far in- 
creased as to make it expedient to build a church for them. 
From the beginning this congregation as well as that at Irwin, 
next to claim our attention, was under the jurisdiction of the 
pastor of Greensburg, who was assisted on Sundays by a 
priest from the abbey. A site was secured, the church was 
undertaken, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop 
October nth, 1863. It was finished in the course of the fol- 
lowing summer, and was dedicated by the same prelate under 
the invocation of St. Boniface. The church is a frame build- 
ing about 30 by 50 feet, and is surmounted by a belfry ; but it 
lays no claim to any special architectural style. A cheap 
frame school-house was soon after built, in which a school was 
opened by a lay teacher. Mass was now celebrated every 
Sunday. Upon the appointment of Rev. Michael Murphy 
pastor of Irwin, in October, 1 871, this church was also con- 
fided to him, and he continued as his predecessors had done 
to offer up the Holy Sacrifice in both every Sunday, giving 
each an alternate early and late Mass. But in the summer of 
1873 the congregations were separated, and Rev. John 
Stillerich was appointed pastor of St. Boniface. A frame 
residence was built near the church for his reception. But 
the support of a school and a resident pastor was found to be 
too heavy a tax on the means of the small congregation, and 
the school was closed and has not since been opened. Father 
Stillerich was at length succeeded by Rev. Ed. Troutwine, 
early in the summer of 1878, under whose jurisdiction the con- 
gregation yet remains. It is composed of German and Irish 
mixed, the former predominating, and in the days of its 
greatest prosperity never exceeded eighty families. Like all 
similar communities it is subject to frequent and sudden vicis- 
situdes, and it is not unusual to find the condition of the 
people change from labor to idleness and from abundance to 
want m a single month. 

Penn has at present greatly fallen from its former pros- 
perity, and numbers, although it is doubtless but temporary, 
not more than thirty families. But notwithstanding this it is 
destined, in the nature of things, to go on gradually increasing. 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH, IRWIN. ^^t^ 



CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION, IRWIN. 

Irwin borough, or Irwin Station, is on the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, twenty-one miles east of Pittsburg. The place was 
so named from Mr. John Irwin, lately deceased, who owned 
extensive tracts of lands there. Here are located the West- 
moreland Coal Company's mines, the most extensive in West- 
ern Pennsylvania. The borough had in 1870 a population of 
833 souls, and it has since increased very considerably. Al- 
though a small number of Catholics lived on farms in the 
vicinity for many years, the congregation and the town owe 
their rise to the mines. But the place was settled by Scotch- 
Irish Presbyterians, a class after Knox's own heart, and it is 
one of the most bigoted spots in the western part of the 
State. As an illustration of their hostility to Popery, it will 
suflice to say that when Mass was celebrated for some time 
in a house of one of the miners, beginning about the year 
1862, before the church was built, it was not unusual for some 
of the young gentlemen of the place to assemble on the side 
of the hill above the house and annoy the assembly by throw- 
ing stones at it. So high did feeling run, that when one of 
the Benedictine fathers by whom the place was at first at- 
tended came on the cars on a certain Sunday to offer up the 
Holy Sacrifice, and did not find a man to meet him at the 
station, he would not venture alone to the house where the 
people were assembled, but stepped on the cars again and 
came to Pittsburg. 

But the number of Catholics increased, and they deter- 
mined to have a church. A site was purchased and work 
commenced under the supervision of the pastor of Greens- 
burg, who, aided by one of the priests at St. Vincent's, minis- 
tered to the congregation until the appointment of a resident 
pastor. The corner-stone of the church was laid by Very 
Rev. T. Mullen, V.G., August 15th, 1867, and the church 
was dedicated by the Bishop on the following Ascension 
Da}^ under the title of St. Mary of the Assumption. The 
church is a brick structure 62 feet in length by 32 in width, 
and is furnished with a belfry. The style and finish are 



394 ^^- MART S CHURCH, IRWIN. 

chaste and simple. Mass was celebrated from that time for- 
ward every Sunday, and of late years it has been celebrated 
twice. At length, in October, 1871, Rev. Michael Murphy 
was appointed first resident pastor, a position which he con- 
tinues to fill. Not having ground upon which to build a 
house, he purchased a large frame residence on a spacious lot 
adjoining the church in April, 1875. From the time of his 
appointment until the summer of 1873 he ministered to the 
congregation at Penn in connection with his own ; but since 
that time, as was stated above, he has devoted himself exclu- 
sively to the church at Irwin. In December, 1876, he built a 
frame hall for fairs, entertainments, etc., and it is his intention 
to open a school in it as soon as circumstances permit. The 
principal obstacle that stands in his way is the fact that his 
congregation is distributed along the railroad for perhaps two 
miles in both directions from Irwin, and owing to the number 
of trains running parents fear to send their children. 

The members of the congregation are engaged almost to 
a man in mining, which is known, here at least, as a very un- 
certain kind of employment, depending in part on the season 
of the year, in part on the iron trade, to some extent on the 
caprice of the operators of the mines, and no little on the 
strikes of the miners themselves ; and hence it is almost im- 
possible to estimate the numerical strength of such a congre- 
gation. A single week may effect as great a change as a year 
would accomplish in other places. But the congregation is 
the largest in Westmoreland County, and as near as can be 
estimated may be put at one hundred and seventy-five fami- 
lies, who are almost without exception natives of the Emer- 
ald Isle. The church is far too small to accommodate them, 
and if circumstances permitted would have been enlarged be- 
fore this. The congregation must increase in the future as it 
has done in the past, and it is not improbable that another 
church will at some future day be erected between Irwin and 
Braddock's Field. 



MISSIONS. 



SUTERVILLE MISSION. 



395 



Suterville is a village on the Youghioghenny River and the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, twenty-nine miles south-east of 
Pittsburg. The mission is composed, like the others last no- 
ticed, almost exclusively of coal-miners. After the erection of 
the church at Alpsville, about eight miles further down the 
river, it was visited from there generally once in the month. 
Prior to that date it had perhaps been visited occasionally 
from Elizabeth, on the Monongahela River. No church has 
yet been built, but Mass is usually offered up in the village 
school-house. In April, 1877, Rev. H. P. Connery was ap- 
pointed resident pastor, and in October of the same year he 
rented a hall which was from that time used as a church. 
But the mission was unable to afford any kind of support to a 
pastor, owing to the fact that the small number of Catholic 
miners in the place did not work more perhaps than one 
third of their time, and in November, 1878, it was again at- 
tached to Alpsville and Father Connery was transferred to 
another congregation. No steps have as yet been taken to- 
wards the building of a church, nor is it probable that any 
will be taken until there is a permanent revival of business, 
for the prosperity of the place depends entirely on the mines. 
At present there are perhaps fifty families ; and the number 
will increase, as the mines are rich and have been opened at a 
comparatively recent date. 

SMITHTON MISSION. 

Ten miles farther up the river, in the same county, is 
Smithton with ten Catholic families, miners. This place was 
also visited at first from Alpsville, but after the appointment 
of a pastor for Suterville it became a part of his mission. 
On his withdrawal, however, it reverted to Alpsville, and so 
it remains. Mass is celebrated in the school-house of the vil- 
lage. Both these missions are composed principally of Irish 
Catholics. 

Although Westmoreland County is the oldest settlement 



396 INDIANA COUNTY. 

in the diocese, and possesses a fair number of congregations, 
yet they are generally small, so that the Catholic population 
is not large. In the south-eastern and north-western sections 
there are no Catholics, if we except a very few scattered 
families. 

INDIANA COUNTY. 

It was the misfortune of this county to lie outside the line 
of canals and railroads, and hence, although all the congrega- 
tions were founded at an early day, religion has not flourished 
except at Blairsville. Nature, too, denied it the advantages of 
mineral wealth and left its population almost exclusively to 
the pursuit of agriculture, except in the eastern and north- 
eastern portions, which were covered with extensive pine for- 
ests. For these reasons the increase of the population has 
been very gradual, and that of the Catholic population still 
more gradual, as will be seen. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, CAMERON BOTTOM. 

This congregation is located in the eastern part of the 
county, about three miles north of the State road running 
from Ebensburg to Indiana, and about equidistant from both 
places. It is an offshoot of the Loretto colony, and dates 
as far back at least as the year 1820. Two years later Rev. 
Terence M'Girr began to pay it an occasional visit from 
Sportsman's Hall, and it is said to have been visited prior to 
that time by Father M'Guire, of the same place. A farm of 
about 360 acres was donated for the site of a church and the 
support of its pastor by a Mr. Wilcott, of Wilmington, Del. ; 
and a stone church was commenced in 1827. It was dedicat- 
ed by Bishop Kenrick on his first visit, October 21st, 1832. 
But it would be impossible to give the names of the numer- 
ous visiting priests and resident pastors, for it has had more 
than any other three congregations in the dioceses. The 
bare list of them is enough to convince a person of ordinary 
intelligence that life is but a pilgrimage. 

It was generally attended from Loretto or Ebensburg at 
distant intervals, until 1850, when the farm was transferred to 



CAMERON BOTTOM. 



397 



the Franciscan Brothers of the former place by the Bishop 
upon certain conditions, the most important of which was 
that they should establish a monastery and lodge and board 
the pastor of the church. When Bishop O'Connor visited 
the place in 1847 there were, as he states, 300 souls in the con- 
gregation, a larger number than at present, owing to the fact 
that a few families withdrew and attached themselves to the 
church at St. Nickolas, seven miles distant. 

Upon the transfer of the property to the Brothers, a 
colony was sent from Loretto who built a frame house to 
serve as a temporary monastery until a more substantial one 
could be provided. From that time forward the congregation 
has been blessed with the presence of a resident pastor, and 
Mass is celebrated every Sunday. The first pastor was Rev. 
W. Lambert, but the changes were as frequent from that time 
as they had been before. 

The little stone church began at length to show signs of 
age, and the people felt able to replace it by one more becom- 
ing the sacramental presence of our Divine Redeemer. Work 
was commenced, and the church was finished in the fall of 
1853. The ceremony of the dedication was performed by 
Rev. Michael Corbett, of Loretto, on the 1 3th of November. 
The church is a small frame building capable of accommodat- 
ing about three hundred, and makes no pretensions to archi- 
tectural style. No steeple was built until 1868, when Rev. 
P. M. Sheehen was pastor. 

About the same time the Brothers began the erection of 
the present stone monastery, which was finished in 1854. It 
is a large substantial building with small windows, and re- 
minded me of a fort the first time I saw it from a distance. 
But it is very comfortable, and has a chapel where the priest 
offers up the week-day Masses. The remaining portion of the 
congregation's history is uneventful. In February, 1861, a 
number of the larger male orphans was sent to the Brothers 
from Pittsburg to work on the farm till they should be larger, 
and then to find homes with Catholic families in the surround- 
ing county. There were generally from twenty to thirty at 
the farm until about 1868. But this disposition of the orphans 
was not successful, as will be seen more fully hereafter. 



398 CHURCH OF THE SEVEN DOLORS. 

It was my lot to be pastor of the congregation during the 
early part of 1870, and at that time there were forty-five fami- 
lies, all farmers, and with a few exceptions Irish or of Irish de- 
scent. The present pastor is Rev. Philip J. Colwell. The 
future of the congregation is likely to be extremely monoto- 
nous. 



CHURCH OF THE SEVEN DOLORS, STRONGSTOWN. 

For several years two or three of the wealthier members 
of the southern part of the Cameron Bottom congregation 
complained of the distance they had to travel to hear Mass, 
and requested permission from the Bishop to build a church 
at Strongstown, four miles south of the present church. Per- 
mission was granted, and a miniature frame building was 
erected in the summer and fall of 187 1. It was dedicated by 
Rev. James Canivan, pastor of the Cameron Bottom church, 
January 24th, 1872. Mass is celebrated in it once or twice in 
the month, the priest riding from one church to the other be- 
tween the Masses. But on the whole it may be regarded as a 
supernumerary. 

ST. BERNARD'S CHURCH, INDIANA. 

Indiana, the county-seat of Indiana County, was laid out 
in 1805 upon a tract of 250 acres of land granted for that pur- 
pose by George Clymer. The turnpike from Ebensburg to 
Kittanning passes through it ; but the principal outlet is the 
Indiana branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which connects 
with the main line near Blairsville. There are said to have 
been some traces of an ancient fortification about three miles 
south-west of the town.* The population in 1870 was 1605 
souls. Father Bradley informs me that he visited the place 
occasionally during the two years he resided at Ebensburg, 
from 1830 to 1832, at which time there were but one English 
and two German families there. From the latter date until 
a resident pastor was appointed it was under the jurisdiction 

* Day's Historical Collections, p. 378. 



ST, BERNARD'S CHURCH, INDIANA. 399 

of the pastor of Blairsville. Little is known of its subsequent 
history until 1846, except that the Catholic population in- 
creased gradually by settlement and conversions. In that 
year the building of the first church was commenced, the cor- 
ner-stone of which was laid by Rev. J. A. Stillenger, of Blairs- 
ville, on the 6th of June. When Bishop O'Connor visited the 
congregation the following year, it numbered, as he states, 
two hundred and fifty souls. At the same time he dedicated 
the church under the invocation of St. Bernard. The build- 
ing was quite small and simple in style. It is but pr6per to 
state, in passing, that the greater part of what follows is taken 
in substance from the German history of St. Vincent's Abbey 
already referred to. 

The congregation at Blairsville had by this time so far in- 
creased as to demand the undivided attention of Father Stil- 
lenger, and the church at Indiana was confided to the care of 
the fathers of the Benedictine Order at St. Vincent's Ab- 
bey. The church was at first visited on one Sunday in the 
month, as it had formerly been, but as it lay on the route to 
St. Mary's, Elk County, where the Benedictines had recently 
established a priory, the Father Superior wished to found one 
there also, both for the better management of the congrega- 
tion and also as a station on the journey to St. Mary's. The 
requisite permission was granted by the Bishop July 15th, 
1852. Hereupon the Superior purchased a property near the 
church with a building on it which had been used as a tav- 
ern, for $3700, and also a farm of 310 acres, four miles from 
the town, for $2400. Two priests were at first stationed at 
the priory, who ministered to the spiritual necessities of the 
congregation and also visited a few famihes at Perrysville, 
twenty -three miles north of Indiana ; Plum Creek, twelve 
miles, and Crooked Creek, eight miles west ; and Mechanics- 
burg, eight miles south-east. But regular visits to these 
places were not long continued, and in the autumn of 1855 one 
of the priests was withdrawn. In 1861 a school-house was 
built and a school opened by a lay teacher. In the following 
year a stone priory was erected. 

The church at length became too small to accommodate 
the congregation, whose means as well as number justified 



400 BLA IRS VILLE. 

them in undertaking a new one. The lot upon which it was 
to stand was donated by Paul Vogel & Brothers ; work was 
commenced, and the corner-stone was laid by the Bishop 
August 17th, 1869. Two years later the church was com- 
pleted, and was dedicated by the same prelate September 
26th. The sacred edifice, which is of brick, is built after the 
Roman style of architecture, and is 95 feet in length by 64 
in width in the transept and 54 in the nave. It is surmounted 
by a steeple 135 feet high. The interior is well finished, and 
altogether the church will compare favorably with almost any 
in the diocese. The entire cost was $18,000. This quite 
naturally left a considerable debt on the congregation, which 
at that time numbered 450 souls, with fifty children in the 
school. 

In 1876 the Benedictine Order withdrew, and the congre- 
gation passed into the hands of the secular clergy. The 
present pastor, Rev. Geo. Allman, was appointed to the va- 
cant office. The following year he built a convent and school- 
house combined, and introduced the Sisters of St. Agnes to 
take chai'ge of the schools, a duty which they continue to 
fulfil. But this improvement and change, considering the 
debt and the circumstances of the congregation, though de- 
sirable, are thought to have been premature. 

The congregation was from the beginning almost entirely 
German, and that nationahty still predominates, but the 
younger portion is rather American, and the parish may be 
termed a mixed one. It has, if anything, dechned in the last 
few years, but it must increase — although it will be very 
slowly — as it is composed principally of farmers. 

BLAIRSVILLE. 

Blairsville is situated on the north bank of the Cone- 
maugh River and on the northern turnpike, 40 miles east of 
Pittsburg. It was laid out about the year 18 19, and was 
named in honor of John Blair, of Blair's Gap, Allegheny 
Mountain, then president of the HoUidaysburg and Pittsburg 
Turnpike Company. The land upon which the town is built 
originally belonged to a Mr. Campbell. The construction of 



CATHOLICS IN BLAIRSVILLE. 401 

the turnpike fostered the growth of the town, and m March, 
1825, it was incorporated as a borough. From 1827 to 1834 
were the palmy days of Blairsville. In 1828 the western divi- 
sion of the canal was completed to the town, and the eastern 
was gradually advancing toward the mountains. In 1834 com- 
munication was made between the eastern and western divi- 
sions of the canal, traffic and travel by the turnpike almost 
ceased, and Blairsville lost its former importance, for the 
canal did not pass through the town, but on the opposite side 
of the river.* 

The Pennsylvania Railroad runs within three miles of the 
town, with which it is connected by the Indiana branch. The 
West Pennsylvania Railroad, which was built on the line of 
the canal from Allegheny City to Blairsville, about the year 
1864, has its shops in the town. But the place no longer en- 
joys its former prosperity, as will be seen from the fact that 
in 1 840 it had a population of 990, which had risen in 1870 to 
but 1054. 

Catholics were among the first settlers in the vicinity of 
Blairsville. Prior to the construction of the canal, the West- 
moreland colony, the centre of which was but ten miles dis- 
tant, had extended across the Conemaugh into Indiana Coun- 
ty. Upon the completion of the canal a number of the 
laborers employed upon it took up their residence in the 
town and its environs. The first Mass celebrated where the 
town now stands was by Dr. Gallitzin ; the date is uncertain, 
but the circumstances will show that it was most probably 
before the town was laid out. I have the account from a man 
who was present. The Holy Sacrifice was offered up in the 
open air, under a tree in a grove back of the present church. 
When the grove was cut down to convert the place into a 
cemetery, the stump of the tree was religiously guarded by 
Father Stillenger, until time itself removed it. Mass was af- 
terwards celebrated in the house of a Mr. Devinny, but for 
how long a time is uncertain. During the construction of 
the canal Mass was celebrated by Rev. Terence M'Girr, of 
Sportsman's Hall, but Dr. Gallitzm also paid the line an occa- 
sional visit. 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 378, 379. 



402 STS. SIMON AND JUDE'S CHURCH. 



STS. SIMON AND JUDE S CHURCH, BLAIRSVILLE. 

The building of the church appears, however, to have been 
the spontaneous work of the people themselves. Be that as 
it may, the congregation cannot be said to have been organ- 
ized until the arrival of Rev. James A. Stillenger, who was 
the first, and the only pastor for forty-three years. 

The people, anxious to enjoy the advantages of a resident 
priest, sent a delegation to Pittsburg in the latter part of 
June, 1830, to meet the newly consecrated Bishop Kenrick 
on his way from Kentucky to his see, and lay their petition 
before him. But he preferred to stop at Blairsville on his 
way, as he did July ist, when he administered confirmation 
and learned the condition of the congregation. He promised 
to send them a pastor, and on November 28th Father Stillen- 
ger took up his residence in the town. He finished the little 
church, which had not yet been completed, had it dedicated, 
and continued to offer up the Holy Sacrifice twice in the 
month ; at the same time he attended the scattered families 
over a large tract of the surrounding country. In 1832 he 
was directed by the Bishop to visit the few Catholics residing 
east of the Allegheny River as far north as the New York 
State line, a distance of no miles, and two years later Fay- 
ette and other counties in the south of the State were placed 
under his jurisdiction, and received the benefit of his minis- 
trations four times in the year. His parish during this time 
— which was not more than three years — embraced the entire 
breadth of the State, a distance of about 160 miles. About 
the same time, as we have seen, he built a new church and a 
house at St. Vincent's, and transferred his residence thither. 
There he resided until September, 1844, and visited Blairsville 
as usual on two Sundays in the month. 

In the mean time, however, the congregation had so far 
increased as no longer to find accommodations in the church. 
A new one was called lor, and was commenced in 1841. 
When finished it was dedicated by Very Rev. M. O'Connor, 
V.G., October 2d of the following j^ear. It is a brick build- 
mg 90 feet in length by 48 in width, having a steeple in the 



DECORATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 403 

centre in front, and is modelled after the Gothic style of archi- 
tecture. The main altar occupies a recess with a sacristy on 
each side, in front of which are the side-altars. Upon the re- 
turn of Father Stillenger to Blairsville, his labors were con- 
fined exclusively to that congregation, with the exception of 
a monthly visit to Indiana until 1852. He built or bought a 
brick residence, and some years later — the date is uncertain 
— built a brick school-house and opened a school with a lay 
teacher. About the year 1858 he added greatly to the deco- 
ration of the interior of the church by placing nine large oil- 
paintings on the walls. On the right hand, uniform in size 
and about 6 by 9 feet, are the Agony in the Garden, the De- 
scent from the Cross, and the Resurrection. On the left hand, 
and of the same size, are the Nativity, the Transfiguration, 
and the Ascension. Over the side-altar on the right, the 
titular saints, Simon and Jude, stand side by side in full- 
length portraits in a painting about 8 by 10 feet. Over the 
other side-altar is the Annunciation, of the same size. The 
altar-piece of the main altar is a Crucifixion, about 10 by 12 
feet. These paintings are all mounted on rich gilt frames, 
and although of different relative merit are all works of rare 
excellence. They have been visited and admired by thou- 
sands, many of whom came from a distance to see them. 
Their history as far as it is known is briefly this, as told me 
by Father Stillenger a short time before his death. ^' When 
I used to kneel before the altar of the old church," said he, 
" and look up at the little picture of the Blessed Virgin and 
Child over the altar, I would wish and pray that I might be 
able to decorate my new church, when it should be built, with 
beautiful oil-paintings. The Blessed Virgin heard my prayer. 
There was a young man here at that time, a particular friend 
of mine, whose godfather was a celebrated painter in Ger- 
many, and it was through his influence that I got these pic- 
tures. I paid something for them, but of course not as much 
as they are worth." 

During all this time the congregation had been increasing 
slowly both in the town and country, until it had become large. 
But the good pastor had one wish of which he fondly hoped 
to witness the accomplishment — that of placing a religious 



404 DEATH OF FATHER STILLENGER, 

community over the schools. With this object in view, he 
built a brick convent near the church in the summer of 1872, 
which, although not so conveniently arranged in the interior 
as might be desired, is yet spacious and comfortable, and pre- 
sents an imposing appearance in the antiquated town with its 
diminutive houses. Into this convent he introduced a num- 
ber of Sisters of Charity from Altoona in January, 1873, and 
gave them charge of the schools, which they still continue to 
teach. This was the last improvement effected by the good 
pastor ; but so much did he delight in it that he was fre- 
quently seen to shed tears of joy at the thought that now at 
length the children of the congregation had the amplest op- 
portunity of receiving a thoroughly Catholic training. 

But his course was run ; the end was at hand, and he was 
about to be called to his final rest. For a few months he had 
been observed to decline more rapidly than could have pro- 
ceeded from old age alone, but no apprehensions were enter- 
tained that his dissolution was at hand. Daily he offered up 
the adorable Sacrifice and administered the affairs of the con- 
gregation. But on the morning of September i8th, 1873, his 
congregation and friends were appalled with the intelligence 
of his sudden death. He had entered the church as usual to 
celebrate Mass, and at its conclusion retired to the sacristy, 
where he unvested, put the vestments away, and seated him- 
self, according to his custom, to make his thanksgiving. His 
housekeeper, finding that he did not return at the usual time 
to take his breakfast, went to the church to ascertain the 
cause of the delay, and there found him dead upon the chair. 
So life-like was his appearance that she spoke to him before 
she perceived that his spirit had taken its flight. 

Very Rev. James Ambrose Stillenger was born in 
Baltimore, April 19th, 1801. His great-grandfather had emi- 
grated from Cologne, Prussia, but his father was born in 
York County, Pa. His mother was a native of Baltimore, 
but of French descent. From his third year he lived with 
his grandfather near Chambersburg, Pa., and here in his six- 
teenth year he was employed in a German printing-ofifice. A 
year after he went to Gettysburg, where he followed the 
same occupation, till at length, after much persuasion. Rev. 



NOTICE OF FATHER STILLENGER. 



405 



John Dubois, president of Mount St. Mary's College, induced 
him to enter that institution and pursue a course of studies. 
He entered in November, 1820, and remained until he was 
raised to the sacred dignity of the priesthood, February 28th, 
1830. Having remained at the college ministering to the 
congregation attached to it until November, he came to 
Blairsville.* The rest of his laborious and edifying career 
has been traced in the history of this and St. Vincent's con- 
gregration. When Rt. Rev. M. O'Connor was promoted to 
the new See of Pittsburg, Father Stillenger was named the 
first Vicar-General, and when the Bishop visited Rome and 
other parts of Europe, July 23d, 1845, he was appointed ad- 
ministrator of the diocese. He continued to fill the position 
of Vicar-General for about four vears, until it became advisa- 
ble for that dignitary to reside in the episcopal city, when 
another was appointed ; for as Father Stillenger frequently re- 
marked, "he should regret nothing more than to be obliged 
through sickness or any other cause to be separated from his 
beloved congregation of Blairsville.'* 

The closing scenes of his life have already been laid be- 
fore the reader. It is worthy of remark, however, that he 
had always expressed a wish to die on a Friday after having 
offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In itself this 
might be regarded merely as the expression of a pious de- 
sire, but when it pleased our Lord to grant it, we begin to 
understand how deeply it must have been fixed in his mind 
and how earnestly sought in prayer. Did the good old man 
have a presentiment, as he walked with faltering steps from 
his house to the, church, that he was making that passage for 
the last time ? Did he feel, as he passed under the loaded 
vines which years before his hand had planted, that never 
after that morning would Heaven, obedient to his word, 
change the fruit of those vines into the most precious Blood 
of Christ ? And when arrayed in the sacred vestments, was 
it revealed to him that what he had long sought by prayer 
was to-day to be granted ? Were those eyes bathed in tears 
of grateful devotion when, administering to himself his own 

* Compiled from MS. left by him at his death. 



4o6 NOTICE OF FATHER STILLENGER. 

Viaticum, he said : " May the Body and Blood of Jesus 
Christ preserve my soul unto life everlasting" ? We know 
not. All we know with certainty is that his soul took its 
flight on a Friday after he had celebrated Mass. 

His remains repose a short distance to the rear of the 
church, the spot where the old church had stood and the one 
selected by himself. Over it has since been erected a very 
tasteful monument. 

Father Stillenger was, as it were, the connecting link be- 
tween the past and the present. His recollection extended 
far back into the days of Dr. Gallitzin and his contemporaries. 
With them he had labored, from them received much of the 
historical reminiscences which made a conversation with him 
more than equal to the perusal of a history of the Church and 
of civilization in the western part of the State. He rendered 
invaluable assistance to Miss Brownson in the preparation of 
her "■ Life of Dr. Gallitzin," on which subject his interest 
amounted almost to enthusiasm. Besides the incidents with 
which his mind was well stored, he had in his possession 
valuable manuscripts relating to the early settlement of Lo- 
retto. The early history of Catholicity was a favorite topic 
with him, and he possessed an admirable faculty of interesting 
his hearers. He never wished for a large company, but spoke 
more freely in the presence of a few. He would entertain 
the little circle for hours, interspersing the more serious nar- 
rative with amusing incidents, " which," as he remarked, 
" God was pleased to scatter on our path to recreate and 
cheer us on ; for we needed something." " At first," he 
would say with a smile, " my parish embraced five counties." 

Father Stillenger was a little above the medium height, 
erect, but with the head falling gently forward, of a powerful 
frame, and weighing at one time only a little less than three 
hundred pounds. His countenance was of the German mould, 
although his accent betrayed nothing of his Teutonic extrac- 
tion. His voice was soft and low, apparently devoid of the 
metallic ring and fulness that distinguish the orator, yet pos- 
sessing that gentle fervor which no one finds it in his heart to 
resist. His eye was playful and sparkled even in his old age 
with a fire that might be called mischievous, but which indi- 



ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, SALTZBURG. 407 

cated the possession of that inestimable faculty which attracts 
the young- and fills them with confidence while it inspires 
them with respect. 

Upon the death of Father Stillenger, Rev. Ed. M'Keever, 
the present pastor, was appointed to the vacant post. In the 
year 1875 he made some necessary repairs both of the interior 
and exterior of the church, had the windows filled with stained 
glass, and the church handsomely frescoed. At the same 
time he enlarged the school-house by adding a story to the 
old building, which was but one story high, and erecting a 
transverse building to the rear of it. Three rooms and a 
library were thus provided on the first floor, while the second 
is a hall for meetings, exhibitions, etc. 

The congregation is composed principally of farmers, with 
a number of small traders, laborers, and miners, and will ag- 
gregate about one hundred and seventy-five families. It can- 
not be said to be increasing, and whatever augmentation there 
may be in the future will be extremely slow. 

ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH, SALTZBURG. 

Saltzburg is situated on the north bank of the Kiskiminitis 
— or Kiskiminetas — River at the point where the Conemaugh 
and Loyalhanna unite, and from which to its confluence with 
the Allegheny River, nineteen miles below at Freeport, the 
stream takes the above name. The village owes its name to 
the discovery of veins of salt water, which are quite abundant 
along the river, and which appear to have been first dis- 
covered by a William Johnston about the year 1813.'^' The 
town owes the little importance it has to the construction and 
traffic of the canal, and afterwards to that of the West Penn- 
sylvania Railroad, which, following the line of the canal, also 
passes through it. The most noted feature of the place is the 
number of preachers who make it the rendezvous from which 
they attend their little flocks in the surrounding country. 
The village had a population of 659 in 1870. 

A few miles above is a tunnel on the canal 1000 feet long, 

* Day's Historical Collections, pp. 375, 379. 



40 8 A NOVEL TEMPLE. 

and an aqueduct over the river near it. This was the scene 
of the first Mass offered in this part of the county. About 
the year 1828, when a large number of Catholic laborers were 
employed at this point, Dr. Gallitzin visited them and offered 
up the Holy Sacrifice in the tunnel. Standing under the 
arch, on the bed of the canal, with hundreds of feet of rock 
over his head, and using the towpath for an altar, he offered 
up the Adorable Victim in perhaps the most unique temple 
on earth. I have the account from a man who was present. 
About this time a small number of Catholic farmers, principally 
Germans, settled in the neighborhood ; but it was not until 
1847 that a church was built for their accommodation. It is 
probable, however, that they were occasionally visited by 
Father Stillenger before that time. One of the Benedictine 
fathers from St. Vincent's then collected and organized the 
little flock, and built a brick church 40 by 35 feet on a lot of 
ground donated for that purpose by a Mr. Rombach. It was 
dedicated by Bishop O'Connor September 21st, 1847, under 
the invocation of St. Matthew. The congregation then num- 
bered, according to the Notes of the Bishop, 50 souls. The 
church has always been under the care of the Benedictine 
fathers, who visit it on one or two Sundays in the month. 

Although originally German, the congregation can now 
with propriety be called American. Its prospects in the 
future are not flattering, and may be judged from its past 
history.* It numbers at present 145 souls. 

* St. Vincenz in Pennsylvanien. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE DONEGAL SETTLEMENT, ARMSTRONG COUNTY. 

Character and nationality of the colonists — Crossing the ocean — Coming west — 
Settlement — The first visit of a priest — Armstrong County — St. Patrick's 
Church, Sugar Creek — A resident priest — The farm and church — Death and 
sketch of Rev. P. O'Neil — and of Rev. P. Rafiferty — and of Rev. Jos. Cody — 
and of Rev. P. M. Doyle — Church of St. Mary of the Nativity, Freeport — St. 
Joseph's Church, Natrona, Allegheny County — St. Patrick's Church, Brady's 
Bend — St. Mary's German Church — Kittanning — St. Mary's Church — Holy 
Guardian Angels' Church, Easly's Settlement — Parker City, an oil-country 
town — Church of the Immaculate Conception. 

THE DONEGAL SETTLEMENT. 

This settlement, as I stated in a previous chapter, is partly 
in Armstrong and partly in Butler County. Unlike the other 
original colonies, it was composed exclusively of one nation- 
ality ; and not only so, but from one locality — the county 
Donegal, Ireland. It possessed, besides, the advantage of a 
bard by whom the account of the embarkation, voyage, and 
landing was commemorated in a song that may still be heard 
in many a Butler County home. I have frequently listened 
to it in childhood. It is not, it is true, after Tom Moore's 
best style ; but truth is not dependent upon graceful and 
classic diction. The bard, as he informs us in the first stanza 
of his song, was Jerry Monaghan, who ''spent many a frolick- 
some day on the banks of Lough Erne," in the south-eastern 
part of county Donegal. The embarkation is thus narrated : 

" On the fourth of June, in the afternoon, 
We sailed from Londonderry; 
Early next day we put to sea 
To cross the tedious ferry ; 
We hoisted sail with a pleasant gale 
As Phoebus was arising. 
Bound for New York, in America, 
In the grand brig Eliza. " 



41 o THE DONEGAL COLONY. 

The only incident worthy of note that occurred during 
the voyage furnished material for the following stanza. 
Knight was the captain of the brig Eliza : 

" A British fleet we chanced to meet 
On the twenty-fourth of August ; 
A man-of-war came bearing down 
With crowded sails upon us. 
Brave Knight, being true to all his crew, 
Advanced unto the captain, 
And when he made a bow to him, 
Showed America's protection." 

But instead of landing at New York the brig entered 
Delaware Bay, and proceeded to New Castle, '' next port to 
Philadelphia," where the emigrants disembarked, being "both 
blithe and hearty" — an event which the bard, faithful to his 
trust, has handed down to posterity in these lines : 

* ' September ninth we took our leave 
Of captain, mate, and sailors. 
Likewise of the Eliza brave, 
For no less can we name her ; 
We gave three cheers for old Ireland, 
It being our former quarter, 
And then, like wandering sheep, we strayed. 
And parted from each other." 

This was in the year 1792. But the bard did not accom- 
pany that part of the colony which came to the Avest. He 
preferred to remain in New Jersey, where he died many years 
after.^ But his mantle fell, as will be seen hereafter, upon 
the shoulders of a worthy successor. 

It was not the intention of the entire colony to make 
their home in the West; but such as were resolved upon 
doing so came without much delay, by Braddock's route, 

* At the conclusion of a lecture on the Introduction of Catholicity into West- 
ern Pennsylvania, which I delivered in Pittsburg in the spring of 1878, and in 
which I had occasion to refer to the song given in the text, as I was leaving the 
hall an elderly lady stopped me to inform me that Jerry Monaghan, then an old 
man, had been a frequent visitor at her father's house in New Jersey when she 
was a little girl. Thereupon she began to repeat the song. 



COMING WEST. 



411 



to Indian Creek in Fayette County. But the presence of 
hostile Indians deterred them from going further, and they 
settled there to bide their time. By the terms of the treaty 
signed at Fort M'Intosh — on the site of the present town of 
Beaver — January 21st, 1785, the Indians relinquished their 
claim to the soil of Pennsylvania. But notwithstanding this 
they continued to commit depredations on the pioneers, until, 
in the battle of Maumee, Ohio, fought in August, 1794, General 
Wayne broke their power forever. They were then only too 
glad to come to terms with a man whom they had learned from 
experience to recognize in fact as well as in name as " Mad 
Anthony Wayne." The news of their defeat coming to the 
ears of the colony at Indian Creek, they set out to take pos- 
session of the territory which they had long had in their 
mind's eye. A few families remained two years longer; 
but the greater part, leaving Braddock's route, came by the 
settlement at Sportsman's Hall, and crossed the Allegheny 
River at the spot where Freeport now stands. Passing up 
Buffalo Creek, which empties into the river at that point, they 
soon reached the end of their journey in 1796, and settled 
down in the wilderness. The settlement extended north-west 
eight or ten miles from the spot where Sugar Creek church 
now stands. But as new accessions were constantly arriving, 
it gradually spread in every direction except to the east. 
These pioneers were very primitive in their manners, as 
countless anecdotes related of them incontestably prove. 
They dehghted in polemics, and if the priest found it neces- 
sary to refute some arguments of a minister of the sects, he 
need not be surprised to hear some elderly member of his 
flock enthusiastically exclaim, " Well said, your reverence," 
or " Let him have it ; he deserves it, your reverence," or some 
such token of approval. If he denounced intemperance or 
some other disorder in his flock, a patriarchal figure might 
be seen rising to point a significant finger at some one, with, 
^' That's for you ; you were drunk last week. Listen to what 

his reverence is saying ;" or more briefly, " Take that, 

; that's for you." Others contented themselves with a 



nod of approval or a glance at the offender. Another stal- 
wart man would report to the priest at his periodical visits 



412 ^ PRIEST VISITS THE COLONY. 

how many persons he had beaten for mocking at the doctrines 
and practices of the Church. 

But the colony was possessed of a bard, as has been said, 
who had the happy faculty of celebrating every memorable 
event in verse. If the schoolmaster vanquished some un- 
liedged preacher — for the schoolmasters of that day were like 
those of whom Goldsmith has written — it was soon heard 
sung on every side. If the neighbors met at a '' frolic" or 
*' raising," and some, after having indulged too freely in 
ardent spirits, broke the peace and perhaps some one's head 
along with it, a song commemorating the event immediately 
sprung from the bard's fertile brain. But with simplicity of 
manners they had a purity of morals and firmness of faith 
which are the glory of the Irish people in whatever part of 
the world they are found ; and an insult offered to religion by 
a sectarian, or a scandal brought upon it by one of their 
own communion, was the only unpardonable sin in their 
decalogue. 

Turning to the facilities which these early settlers pos- 
sessed of hearing Mass and receiving the sacraments and 
consolations of religion, we can readily understand how very 
limited they must necessarily have been. The first priest to 
cross the Allegheny River and visit the settlement was Father 
Lanigan, in 1801. But he paid it only one visit. The next 
visit was that of Rev. P. Heilbron, which is thus noted by 
Father Stillenger : "In 1803 Father Heilbron made his first 
visit beyond the Allegheny River. At Slippery Rock he 
baptized thirteen in one day, and at Buffalo Creek thirty- 
eight." It may be remarked that what is now called the 
Sugar Creek church was long known as '' the Buffalo Creek 
mission ;" and in fact it is much nearer to the latter than it is 
to the former stream. With the next visit a new era dawned 
for the settlement ; the germ of separate congregations began 
to spring up, and the Church commenced, to show the first 
elements of organization. 



A RESIDENT PRIEST, 



ARMSTRONG COUNTY 



413 



Armstrong County derived its name from Gen. John Arm- 
strong, who commanded the expedition against the Indians at 
Kittanning in the summer of 1756. It was formed by an act 
of Assembly of March 12th, 1800, and it contains at present — 
for Clarion County was taken from it — an area of 639 square 
miles. A large portion of the population is of German 
descent, having emigrated from the eastern part of the 
State. 

Nearly all the Catholics of this county reside west of the 
Allegheny River, and are very generally distributed over it, 
with the exception of that portion lying immediately north- 
west of Kittanning, in which there are none. On the eastern 
side of the river there are none of any account, except in the 
vicinity of Kittanning and a few German families in the 
northern part of the county. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, SUGAR CREEK. 

This congregation, which is the parent of all those west of 
the Allegheny River, dates, as we have seen, from the close 
of the last century, and its history will for that reason be un- 
usually interesting. The church stands about twelve miles 
north-west of Kittanning, in a country place, and is about half 
a mile east of the Butler County line. 

In the year 1805, or according to another tradition 1806, 
or as a third will have it 1807, although the first is supported 
by the strongest arguments, Rev. Laurence Sylvester Phelan 
(sometimes also called Whelen or Whalen) took up his resi- 
dence at what became the site of the church. He had been 
for a short time at Sportsman's Hall, as was remarked in the 
history of that congregation ; but owing to the unfortunate 
disturbances arising out of the irregularities of the misguided 
Father Fromm, he could not enjoy the tranquiUity necessary 
for laboring successfully in the cause of religion, and accord- 
ingly withdrew. A number of the Catholic settlers followed 
him. Soon after his arrival at Sugar Creek the heads of 



414 



THE FIRST PRIEST. 



families, OA'erjoyed at the thought of having a priest among 
them, met to consider the best means of securing him a home 
and a church. Land was to be had in abundance and at a 
very moderate price at that time, as will appear from the fact 
that a man sold his settler's right to two hundred acres of 
ground for a set of old-fashioned plough-irons, that could 
have been bought at most for five dollars. Another man ex- 
changed his right to four hundred acres for a silk dress for 
his wife. But money was as scarce as land was plenty, and 
five dollars was a small fortune. Still the people recognized 
the truth of the adage that '' there is strength in unity," and 
it was resolved to make an appeal to ever}^ one. The district, 
at least fifteen miles square, was quartered out to four col- 
lectors, whose duty it should be to solicit donations. Casper 
W. Easly took the southern district, near Slate Lick ; Jas. 
Sheridan the south-western, or Clearfield Township ; Neil 
Sween}', Butler and its surroundings ; and Council Rodgers 
the north and north-Avestern, or Donegal Township. Soon 
money sufficient to buy a farm and commence the building of 
a house and church was collected, the highest subscription 
being, as we are told, two dollars. The present farm, con- 
sisting of almost two hundred acres, was bought and a little 
log-cabin was built for the priest. The church was then un- 
dertaken in the following novel way : Each of the four men 
above named was required to come on a certain da}^ and to 
bring with him as many men a.s would be required to fell 
trees and hew logs enough for one side or end of the pro- 
posed building. The more important work of making the 
shingles for the roofs and procuring and driving the nails 
was entrusted to Patrick M'Elroy. The building was ready 
for the roof in the fall of 1805 or '6, or '7, according to the 
dates given above for the arrival of Father Phelan, for this 
was in the autumn after his coming ; but owing to the diffi- 
culty experienced in procuring the nails, it was not roofed until 
the following spring. It was then placed under the invocation 
of the Apostle of Ireland. The building, which is yet standing, 
is of hewn logs and is about 22 b}^ 35 feet, with a gallery, and the 
altar standing against the end wall. There are three little square 
windows in each side, and one in each end of the gallery. 



CHANGE OF PASTORS. 



415 



The interior is without ceiling, open to the roof, and without 
pews. A Httle porch was afterwards built in front. It is the 
oldest church now standing in the two dioceses and in the 
entire western part of the State. Hither came people from 
ten miles around, and frequently from a greater distance ; and 
the father of the writer often crossed the river from his home 
below Kittanning, in years gone by, and walked fasting to 
the church of a Sunday morning, a distance of not less than 
twelve miles, and many others did the same. The devotion 
and piety of the people was truly edifying, and showed how 
much they appreciated the ministrations of religion. The 
stations of the cross, which I have frequently seen, consisted 
of so many crosses marked on the walls with a piece of 
charred wood taken from the fire. Before these the good 
people would commemorate the Passion of our Redeemer in 
a manner that showed how deeply the sense of their indebt- 
edness was engraven on their minds. Each one as he reached 
the church on a Good Friday would remove the shoes from 
his feet, and, leaving them in the little vestibule, enter the 
church and perform the stations barefoot. 

But so numerous were the stations which the priest was 
obliged to visit, and so far distant from each other and from 
the church, that Mass was not offered up in it more frequently 
than once in a month or once in two months ; for at that time, 
and for many years after it, there was but one priest in the 
entire district west of the Allegheny River from Erie to 
Beaver. After remaining with the congregation until 18 10, 
Father Phelan withdrew, and his name is no longer met with 
in the history of this part of the country. The congregation 
was then visited at distant intervals until 1820 by Fathers 
O'Brien and M'Guire, from Pittsburg, and by Father M'Girr, 
from Sportsman's Hall. The following year Rev. Charles 
Ferry took up his residence at the church, and visited and 
ministered to the surrounding district, which included a scope 
of perhaps thirty miles square and was estimated to contain 
at that time about one hundred and forty families. A few scat- 
tered families resided at a still greater distance. Father Ferry 
remained until 1826, when he was succeeded by Rev. Patrick 
O'Neil, who resided at Freeport and built the first church 



41 6 DEATH OF REV. P. O'NEIL. 

there, as will be stated further on. In 1831 he published a 
pamphlet of 50 pages, entitled ''A Sermon on the Mystery of 
the Real Presence, Preached in the Court House in the 
Borough of Butler, by Rev. P. O'Neil, Roman Cathohc Mis- 
sionary in Armstrong, Butler, and the Adjacent Counties, etc. 
With an Analysis of a Sermon said to be Preached against 
Transubstantiation in the Associate Reformed Church, in the 
Borough of Butler, by the Rev. Isaac Niblock, A.M." The 
sermon is a lucid and powerful exposition of the Catholic 
doctrine of this adorable mystery ; the Analysis is an over- 
whelming refutation of the sophisms, misrepresentations, and 
calumnies of a man whose conscience was as callous as his 
language was illogical and ungentlemanly. So caustic were 
some parts of the Analysis that, at the request of Bishop 
Kenrick, the author suppressed more than one fourth of the 
original manuscript. Father O'Neil withdrew from the con- 
gregation very early in the year 1834, and for many years 
after served on the mission in the west. He paid a visit to 
the field of his early labors in the summer of 1878, and was for 
a little time the guest of the writer, to whom he communicated 
valuable information regarding this portion of our history. 
He had made an arrangement with an eastern publishing 
house for the issuing of a new edition of his pamphlet, and 
the writer furnished him with the only complete copy of the 
work that is known to be extant. On returning to the west 
Father O'Neil went to the Mercy Hospital ifi Chicago, in 
which he had for some time been chaplain. He continued to 
exercise the duties of that office until, worn out with toil and 
full of days, he expired there on the 15th of June, 1879, i^ the 
84th year of his age and the 58th of his ministry. 

Rev. Patrick O'Neil was born in the northern part of 
Ireland, most probably in the county Armagh, in 1797. Having 
pursued his studies for a time in his native land, he was sent 
to the foreign-mission college of the Society of Picpus, at 
Paris, by Very Rev. Henry Conwell, then Vicar-General of 
the Archdiocese of Armagh, in 18 17. Upon the appointment 
of Dr. Conwell Bishop of Philadelphia, in 1820, Mr. O'Neil 
offered his services to him, which were accepted, and he was 
ordained at Paris in 1821, and soon after set out for the New 



AN EPISCOPAL VISITATION. 417 

World. He came to Western Pennsylvania, as we have seen, 
in 1826. His subsequent career has already been briefly re- 
ferred to. 

Upon Father O'Neil's retiring, the mission was for a few 
months without a pastor, as will appear from the following 
account of an episcopal visitation, which, from the picture it 
affords of those early days, is given entire, so far as relates to 
this church : 

" The church of St. Patrick, Buffalo Creek, Armstrong 
County, was next visited. This congregation is also destitute 
of a pastor." The church is of unwrought wood, and might 
vie with the apostolic times for unadorned plainness and 
simplicity. During five days, from Thursday until the fol- 
lowing Tuesday (May i5th-2oth, 1834), from 5 or 6 o'clock in 
the morning until 6 or 7 in the evening, the confessional was 
crowded with penitents. Many of them had come great 
distances and remained fasting until a late hour in the day. 
Among those was an old lady who, although in her eightieth 
year, had walked a mile and a half to be present at the Holy 
Sacrifice and eat of that Flesh ' which was given for the life 
of the world.' About 300 received communion, and confirma- 
tion was given to 90 persons, some of whom had travelled 50 
miles to receive this gift of the Holy Ghost. The scenes 
exhibited during these five days were similar to those which 
excited the Saviour's compassion over the neglected people, 
who were as sheep wandering without a shepherd, and neces- 
sarily brought to mind his command to the Apostles, 'to 
pray to the Lord of the harvest, that he would send laborers 
into the harvest.' " * 

Some time in the summer of the same year, 1834, Rev. 
Patrick Rafferty was placed in charge of the mission, and, 
like his predecessor, resided at Freeport. Little of interest 
marked the passage 'of time beyond the gradual settlement of 
the country and increase of the Catholic population. St. 
Patrick's was visited, as heretofore, on one Sunday in the 
month. After remaining for about two years Father Rafferty 
withdrew to the eastern part of the diocese, in 1836, and was 

* Philadelphia Catholic Herald. 



4 1 3 JDEA TH OF RE V. P. RAFFER T Y. 

for many years pastor of St. Francis' Church, Fairmount, 
Philadelphia, in which position he died after a short illness, 
March i6th, 1863, at a very advanced age. He had labored on 
the mission in different parts of Western Pennsylvania from 
about the year 1828. During- that time he wrote a number of 
small works, among others ''A Short History of the Protes- 
tant Reformation ; chiefly Selected from Protestant Authors," 
Pittsburg, 1 83 1, which is a w^ell-written work, and presents 
the subject as fairly as could be expected in a i6mo work of 
240 pages. Another, '' The Sling of David," etc., printed in 
1832, is a spirited controversial work square i6mo, 128 
pages, in answer to a challenge of a Rev. W. C. Brownlee, of 
"■ the Middle Dutch Reformed Church of the City of New- 
York," published in the Truth-Teller, February 2d — the 3'ear is 
uncertain, as the copy I have has lost the title-page — couched in 
the following terms : " I beg leave here, publicly and for- 
mally, to challenge Bishop Dubois, Dr. Power, or Dr. Varella, 
or Dr. Levins, to enter the list in a series of letters, and I 
shall attack or defend as duty may call me ; the controversy 
to begin as soon as convenient. I offer to take them indi- 
vidually or as a body ; hoping that this challenge may be ac- 
cepted in the same prompt and frank manner in which it is 
given, and feeling anxious to hear from you or the reverend 
priests as soon as convenient." " My argument," as Father 
Raffert}^ informs the reader in his preface, " is this : either we 
are to be guided by the CathoHc Church that^ has already 
lasted eighteen hundred years, or by Dr. Brownlee, a preacher 
without any mission, ordinary or extraordinary, and without 
ordination." And he proceeds to develop his argument 
from the Scripture, the Fathers, and reason in a most con- 
vincing though somewhat verbose manner. He also pub- 
lished a work of explanation of the Christian doctrine, and 
perhaps one or two others. 

The life of Father Rafferty was very eventful. In 
1798 he was an active agent of the rebellion in his native 
land, and for a time acted as a messenger between Emmet 
and Fitzgerald. He afterwards completed his studies and 
came to this country, was ordained — at what time is uncer- 
tain — and spent the remainder of his life on the Pennsylvania 



NEW CONGREGATIONS. 419 

mission. He was a man of great learning and singular pru- 
dence, as will appear from the fact that he was counsellor to 
the Papal Nuncio in the discussion of the Bonaparte-Paterson 
marriage case at Trenton, N. J."^ 

After the transfer of Father Rafferty, St. Patrick's was 
without a pastor until the summer of 1837, but it was visited 
at distant intervals by a priest from Pittsburg. In August of 
that year Rev. Joseph Cody was appointed pastor, and took 
up his residence at the church. From this time forward Mass 
was celebrated on two Sundays in the month, the third 
being given to Freeport and the fourth to Butler. But 
the congregation was becoming too large for the church. 
A new one was accordingly undertaken in 1840, and, although 
not entirely finished, was dedicated by Very Rev. M. O'Con- 
nor, V.G., July 29th, 1842. This church was brick, and was 
about 80 feet in length by 45 in width, without a tower, with 
a gallery and one altar. The interior was simple in style and 
finish, and the altar stood against the end wall, having a semi- 
circular railing. The sacristy was a separate building against 
the rear of the church. In 1844 the sphere of Father Cody's 
labors was narrowed by the appointment of Rev. M. J. 
Mitchell to Butler, with the additional care of Murrinsville 
and Mercer (the latter now in the Diocese of Erie). Soon, 
however, Brady's Bend required an occasional visit from him, 
and a little later a church was built at Donegal, or North 
Oakland as it is now called. 

In 1847 the field of his labors was still further narrowed 
by the appointment of Father Mitchell pastor of Freeport and 
Brady's Bend. From that time Mass was celebrated at St. 
Patrick's on three Sundays in the month, the other being 
given to Donegal. The congregation was as large at this 
time, perhaps, as it was at any time in its history. In the 
summer of 1854 the dilapidated old log residence was replaced 
by a brick one, in the building of which the writer of these 
pages labored. After about the year 1861 Father Cody's sole 
attention was confined to the parent church, a circumstance 
rendered necessary by his age and declining health. At 

* Philadelphia Catholic Herald. 



420 DEATH OF REV. JOSEPH CODY. 

length, after having borne the heat and burden of the day for 
almost thirty years, and having been occasionally assisted by 
the neighboring priests during the last two or three years, he 
felt no longer able to minister to his congregation, and Rev. 
J. O'G. Scanlon was transferred from Kittanning to St. Pat- 
rick's at the end of the year 1865. Soon after Father Cody 
retired to the Mercy Hospital, Pittsburg, where he was affec- 
tionately cared for by the Sisters and by his nephew, Very 
Rev. J. Hickey, V.G., and where he calmly rested from his 
labors in the sleep of death, August 7th, 1 871, in the 70th 3^ear 
of his age. 

Rev. Joseph Cody was a native of county Tipperary, 
Ireland. Having pursued his studies for some time in his 
native land, he came to this country and entered the seminary 
at Philadelphia. He was ordained to the sacred ministry on 
the feast of Corpus Christi, May 25th, 1837, and immediately 
came to Pittsburg. From August of the same year, as has 
been said, he had charge of the Armstrong and Butler coun- 
ty mission ; and at the time of his death there were at least 
ten congregations in the field which he alone had for many 
years cultivated. His funeral took place from St. Patrick's, 
ana his remains repose in front of the church, the spot which 
he had selected, reminding those who enter of the debt of 
gratitude they owe him. 

Father Scanlon immediately set about the improvement of 
the interior of the church. Plans were procured, but before 
he could carry them into execution he was transferred to 
another congregation and was succeeded by Rev. James P. 
Tahany in October, 1866. He collected means and made the 
improvements contemplated by his predecessor. Side sacris- 
ties were erected, thus making a recess for the main altar ; 
side-altars and a new high altar were provided, the interior 
was frescoed, the Avindows filled with stained glass, and alto- 
gether the church assumed the appearance of a new building, 
and one of the most beautiful in the diocese. 

Father Tahany was succeeded November, 1871, by Rev. 
S. P. Herman. But soon after his appointment the congrega- 
tion sustained a heavy loss in the total destruction of the 
church by fire on the night of January ist, 1872, leaving a 



DEATH OF REV, P. M. DOYLE, 



421 



small debt and no insurance. The burning of the church was 
the work of an incendiary — an act of revenge. The congre- 
gation now retired to the old church, which from the erection 
of the other had been unoccupied, or had served the purpose 
of a school for one or two summers, a granary, etc. Rev. 
Thomas Fitzgerald now became pastor of the congregation. 
But it had fallen somewhat from its former numerical strength 
and prosperity. He fitted up the old church as well as he 
could, and occupied it while he remained. Having ministered 
to the congregation for about a year, he was transferred to Som- 
erset County, and was succeeded by Rev. P. M. Doyle. Dur- 
ing this time the people continued to occupy the old church, 
not thinking themselves equal to the task of erecting a new 
one, and the more so as many of the young men had with- 
drawn to the oil country, thus weakening the congregation. 
But the health of Father Doyle, which had been seriously im- 
paired within the past few years, became so feeble that he 
was no longer able to continue in charge of the congregation, 
and he retired to a hospital in Washington City in the fall of 
1875, where he remained for a time. With his health some- 
what improved he set out for the home of one of his brothers 
residing in Illinois, with a view of further recruiting before 
resuming his sacred functions. But while on his way he was 
suddenly taken sick at the town of Vandalia, 111., and died al- 
most immediately after, July 21st, 1876, in the 47th year of 
his age and the 22d of his ministry. 

Rev. Peter M. Doyle was born in the State of Vermont, 
but his father moved to Armstrong County in this State dur- 
ing the childhood of his son. He entered St. Michael's Semi- 
nary at a proper age and pursued his studies to their com- 
pletion, when he was raised to the sacred dignity of the priest- 
hood. He served on the mission at Huntingdon till the 
year 1861, when he came to Clearfield, Butler County, where 
he remained until transferred to St. Patrick's, seven years 
later. His remains were brought to Freeport, the home of 
his father, where they were laid to rest. 

Father Doyle was succeeded by Rev. Patrick Quilter, the 
present pastor. His first care was to replace the church that 
had been destroyed by fire, and so successful was he that the 



42 2 FREE PORT. 

foundation was ready for the laying of the corner-stone in the 
summer of 1876. The ceremony was performed by the 
Bishop on the 5th of August. The church was finished the 
following summer, and was dedicated by Very Rev. R. 
Phelan, Administrator of Allegheny, July 3d. Like the for- 
mer, it is brick, and is modelled after the Gothic style of ar- 
chitecture. It is 90 feet in length by 45 in width, and has a 
steeple in the centre in front. Unlike the old, however, it 
has a basement, one half of which is beneath the surface. 
The interior is furnished with three altars, and is finished in 
a chaste and beautiful manner. 

The discovery of oil in the vicinity improved the condition 
of the congregation for a time. But the congregation is not 
large, perhaps not so large as it was twenty years ago, and 
will not number more than one hundred families. A portion 
was cut off in the formation of the new parish at Millerstown, 
a church which is under the jurisdiction of the pastor of St. 
Patrick's. Although efforts were made at different times to 
open a Catholic school, they have never been crowned with 
permanent success, nor is it at all probable that a school will 
be permanently established in the future, owing to the dis- 
tance at which many of the people live from the church. 
The farm is still attached to the church, and is cultivated or 
leased under the direction of the pastor. No marked change 
is likely to take place in the parish for many years to come. 

CHURCH OF ST. MARY OF THE NATIVITY, FREEPORT. 

Freeport is situated on the west bank of the Allegheny 
River, twenty-eight miles above Pittsburg and in the extreme 
southern corner of Armstrong County. It was laid out by 
David Todd about the year 1800, although a few settlers had 
occupied the ground previous to that time. But it owes what- 
ever of importance it has to the Pennsylvania Canal, which, 
following the Kiskiminetas River to its mouth a mile above 
the town, crossed the Allegheny and passed through it. In 
1870 the population was 1640, a fraction less than it had been 
ten years before. Here it was that the famous Donegal colony 
crossed the river m 1796, and, while the greater part contin- 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 



423 



ued their journey, a few stragglers settled in the country 
along Buffalo Creek, which empties into the river immedi- 
ately below the town. It is not known whether Father Lani- 
gan, in his visit to Donegal in 1801, or Father Heilbron, in 
his of two years later, came to Freeport. It is probable, 
however, that they did, for the missionaries of those days 
usually visited all the localities in which they knew that even 
three or four families resided. Certain it is that Mass was cele- 
brated in different places in the southern part of the county by 
the pastor of Sugar Creek, from the arrival of Rev. Charles 
Ferry, in 1821. The Holy Sacrifice was not offered up in the 
town before the year 1826. At that time Rev. Terence 
M'Girr celebrated Mass in the lower part of the town, in the 
house of a Catholic family by the name of Boland, which fur- 
nishes an illustration of the trials of those days. No sooner 
had the priest arrived than messengers were sent to all the 
Catholics of the surrounding country. The house in which 
Mass was to be offered up was in course of erection and was 
unfinished. A number of men laid a temporar}^ floor and 
threw some boards over the joists of the second story, under 
which the altar was to stand, while the priest heard confes- 
sion under a tree at a short distance. When all were heard. 
Mass was commenced — but not till then, for many had come 
fasting, perhaps eight or ten miles, and could ill afford to re- 
turn disappointed. 

Rev. Patrick O'Neil, who arrived in 1826, was the first resi- 
dent pastor. The next year the building of the canal was 
begun, and, the number of Catholics increasing, he deter- 
mined to build a church. He collected means from the farm- 
ers and laborers, and purchased a lot from Con. Rogers for 
$200. The contract for the church was let to a Protestant 
builder in 1827, who agreed to erect it for $600. While en- 
gaged on the work he was frequently reminded that he was 
using brick of an inferior quahty, but his invariable reply was, 
"They are good enough for the Catholics." But when the 
work was finished they refused to pay him, and upon arbi- 
trators being appointed by mutual consent, the work was 
condemned, and he was required to remove the building and 
leave the lot as he had found it. Father O'Neil left him the 



424 



CHANGE OF PASTORS. 



alternative of taking $200 for the building such as it was, a 
proposition which he reluctantly accepted ; and this was the 
actual cost of the church. But it was soon necessary to put 
iron rods through it at the spring of the roof to keep it from 
falling apart. After the completion of the church Mass was 
usually celebrated on one Sunday in the month by the pastor 
of St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek, until 1847. It is not known at 
what precise time the church was finished, but it was not 
dedicated until the visit of Bishop Kenrick — which was the 
first visit of a Bishop — September 8th, 1831, when he dedi- 
cated it under the invocation of St. Mary of the Nativity. 
The church was plain and simple in style and finish, was 34 
feet in length by 28 in width, and had a gallery. Pews were 
not put into it until a few years later. It was in this church 
that the writer was baptized. Bishop Kenrick again visited 
Freeport May nth, 1834, between the date of the departure 
of Father O'Neil and that of the arrival of Rev. Patrick 
Rafferty. From a report of this event in the Catholic Herald 
the following is taken : " As there has been no pastor here for 
some months, the visitation occupied three days, during 
which time more than one hundred persons approached the 
sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, and fourteen were 
confirmed. The lively faith and tender piety of this congre- 
gation is calculated to give partial consolation for their spir- 
itual destitution." Soon after that time Father Rafferty took 
charge of the mission which embraced Freeport, and, like his 
predecessor, resided in that town. The congregation gradu- 
ally increased with the growth of the town and the settle- 
ment of the surrounding country. After about three 3^ears — 
August, 1837 — Father Rafferty gave place to Rev. Joseph 
Cody, who took up his residence at St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek. 
At length we reach the year 1847. ^^ the early part of 
this summer Freeport and Brady's Bend were detached from 
the parent church and formed into a separate mission in 
charge of Rev. M. J. Mitchell, who lived part of the time in 
each place, and gave Mass to each every alternate Sunday. 
In the latter part of the same summer Bishop O'Connor paid 
his first visit to St. Mary's, and states in his Notes that the 
congregation then numbered four hundred souls. 



A NEW CHURCH BUILT. 425 

Soon after his arrival Father Mitchell undertook the erec- 
tion of a new church to replace the old one that was now be- 
coming too small. Lots were purchased beside it, and work 
was commenced without the ceremony of a corner-stone 
laying, a circumstance not unusual in those early days. 
About the time of the completion of the new edifice, Father 
Mitchell was succeeded by Rev. John Larkin. The dedica- 
tion ceremony was performed by the Bishop December 28th, 
1851. The church is brick, is 85 feet in length by 45 feet in 
width, and has a steeple in the centre in front. The interior 
is furnished with two altars, one of which was erected some 
years later. The building is modelled after the Gothic style 
of architecture, and is superior to almost all the churches 
erected at that time. 

The congregation was considerably increased at this time 
by the building of the Soda Works (now called Natrona), five 
miles below ; and a few years later it was still further aug- 
mented by the building of two or three cannel-coal oil-works 
on the opposite side of the river from the town. But the 
farming portion has undergone little change for many years. 
From the completion of the church until 1858 the changes of 
pastors were frequent. But in that year Rev. R. Phelan was 
appointed, and remained ten years. He improved the in- 
terior of the church, purchased a few acres of ground for a 
cemetery, and also bought a pastoral residence. It was dur- 
ing this time that the congregation was at the zenith of its 
prosperity and numerical strength. But upon the promotion 
of Very Rev. T. Mullen, of St. Peter's Church, Allegheny, to 
the See of Erie (July, 1868), Father Phelan was appointed his 
successor, and Rev. J. Hackett filled the vacancy at Freeport. 
Prior to this the congregation had declined considerably, 
owing to the suspension of the oil-works. During Father 
Hackett's pastorate a church was built at Natrona for the 
Catholics of that place, as we shall presently see. On No- 
vember loth, 1869, he gave place to Rev. Jas. Holland. A 
school was now opened in a rented room. Unsuccessful at- 
tempts had been made to found one many years before, but 
this one promised to be more permanent. The pastor added 
considerably to the embellishment of the church both in the 



426 NA TRONA, 

interior and exterior, and left it upon his transfer to Pitts- 
burg, January i6th, 1873, one of the most beautiful of the 
diocese. He was succeeded by the writer, who remained 
but six months, during which he took measures towards the 
erection of a school-house. Rev. W. A. Nolan now filled the 
vacancy, and while pastor built a substantial brick school- 
house, two stories high and about 25 by 50 feet, on the lot 
beside the church. To it he transferred the school a year 
after his arrival. But the depression of the times consequent 
on the panic of 1873 soon rendered it necessary to discontinue 
it, and it has not since been resumed. Father Nolan was suc- 
ceeded June 1st, 1876, by Rev. G. S. Grace, and he at the 
end of August by Rev. Fred. Eberth and C. M'Dermot ; for 
the difficulty of going from Natrona to Freeport on the days 
on which Mass was celebrated in both places — the Western 
Pennsylvania Railroad refusing the use of the hand-car from 
that time — rendered it no longer possible for one priest to 
minister to both congregations. Since that time there have 
been two priests, but it is probable that ere long Natrona 
will be an independent congregation with a resident pastor. 
Father Eberth was succeeded by Rev. Jas. Canivan, Septem- 
ber, 1877, ai^d he by the present pastor. Rev. P. M. Garvey, 
at the end of April, 1879. The congregation of St. Mary's 
has, if anything, been declining in numbers and importance 
in the last few years, and will not at present exceed eighty 
families. The future prospects are not encouraging for its 
growth and prosperity, although it is probable that it will 
maintain its present position. 

Mass is occasionally celebrated at Leechburg, five miles 
up the Kiskiminetas River, for a few families residing there. 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NATRONA, ALLEGHENY COUNTY. 

The number of Catholics in the north-eastern part of Alle- 
gheny County is small. After leaving Sharpsburg few are to 
be met except a small number of farmers who hear Mass in 
that town, a dozen families at Hoboken, five miles further up 
the river, and the congregation we are now about to notice. 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH. 427 

There were none of the older CathoKc settlements between 
Pittsburg and Freeport. 

About the year 1852 the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing 
Company built extensive works for the manufacture of salt 
and other alkalies at a point on the west bank of the river 
twenty-three miles above Pittsburg and five below Freeport. 
Soon a flourishing village sprung up around the works, which 
was at first called East Tarentum, and later Natrona, but 
which is generally known as " The Soda Works." The 
greater part of the population is Catholic, of whom there are 
at present perhaps seventy-five families, twenty of whom are 
German and almost the same number Poles. They have 
always been, and are yet, attended from Freeport. Mass had 
never been offered for them in the village until after the ap- 
pointment of Father Phelan pastor of Freeport, in the autumn 
of 1858. Seeing that it was difficult for some of them, and 
impossible for others, to hear Mass regularly, he soon began 
to visit them on a Sunday and offer an early Mass either in 
one of their houses or in one of the school-rooms. These 
visits, at first irregular, soon became of monthly occurrence, 
and later still more frequent. At length the congregation had 
so far increased that it became expedient to build a church for 
their better accommodation, and early in 1868 Father Phelan 
obtained the donation of a lot from the proprietors of the works 
for that purpose. But before undertaking the church he 
was transferred to St. Peter's, Allegheny, and was suc- 
ceeded, in July of that year by Rev. J. Hackett. In the early 
part of the following summer he built the church, which was 
dedicated by the Bishop August 22d, under the invocation 
of St. Joseph. It is a neat frame structure, built with little 
expense, and without pretensions to architectural style, and is 
50 feet in length by 30 in width, and has one altar. 

From that time the Holy Sacrifice was offered up on two 
Sundays in the month by the pastor of Freeport, who went 
from one church to the other between the Masses. The con- 
gregation was gradually increasing. To increase the accom- 
modations Father Nolan built a gallery in the summer of 1874, 
and in the following summer made an addition to the rear of 
the church for the altar and sacristy. ' But the congregation 



42 8 BRAD Y'S BEND. 

keeps pace, and the church is a third time inadequate to its 
accommodation. A Cathohc school was at one time attempt- 
ed, but it did not succeed. Since the appointment of an as- 
sistant to the pastor of Freeport, in the summer of 1876, Mass 
is celebrated every Sunday, and the congregation is now in 
a more flourishing condition than that of which it is a depend- 
ency. 

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, BRADY'S BEXD. 

The village of Brady's Bend is situated on the west bank 
of the Allegheny River, at the mouth of Sugar Creek, sixty- 
eight miles above Pittsburg, and it owes its name to a cele- 
brated Indian scout, Captain Samuel Brady, after whom the 
bend in the river was called. Its tnore recent notoriety is 
due to the blast-furnaces and rolling-mill till recentl}' in opera- 
tion there. The furnaces, one mile up the creek from its 
mouth, were built in 1840, and the rolling-mill, at the mouth 
of the stream, a year later. Fonmany years it was known as 
the Great Western Iron Works. Catholics, both English and 
German, began to settle at the works from the date of their 
erection; and in 1843 Father Cody, of St. Patrick's, Sugar 
Creek, offered up the first ]Mass for them. From that date 
they were occasionally visited by him and by the German 
priest from Butler. 

In 1846 a small frame church was built. But so opposed 
were the proprietors of the works to Catholicity that they 
would not permit it to be erected near their premises ; and 
not onh' so, but when they learned that the Catholics con- 
templated the purchase of a lot at a considerable distance, they 
bought it the better to prevent such a desecration of their 
sacred precincts. It thus happened that the church was built 
at Queenstown, a village on the hill a mile north of the 
furnaces. But the proprietors will yet learn, as many others 
have learned, that the influence of a priest over the class of 
people usually employed in public works, even in temporal 
matters, is valuable enough to be purchased at a considerable 
cost. 

Early in the following year Rev. M. J. Mitchell was trans- 



ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH. 429 

ferred from Butler, and became pastor of Freeport and 
Brady's Bend, to each of which he gave alternate Sundays. 
The presence of a pastor inspired new life into the little flock, 
and the church was soon inadequate to its accommodation. 
The pastor built a transverse addition to the rear of the 
church, making it 74 feet in length by 45 in the transept, and 
dedicated it, under the invocation of the Apostle of Ireland, 
November i8th, 1849. ^^ that time the German element was 
strong in the congregation, and before the erection of the 
German church a priest was accustomed to visit the place 
occasionally from Butler. In 1851 Father Mitchell was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Eugene Gray, who remained until 1856. As 
time passed the capacity of the works was increased, and the 
congregation became gradually larger. After the departure 
of Father Gray the changes of pastors were frequent until 
September, 1861, when Rev. Thos. Walsh was appointed. 
The old church was by this time too small for the congre- 
gation, and although the Germans were formed into a 
separate congregation, a new church was necessary. But a 
greater change had come over the proprietors of the works 
than over the congregation. So well had they taken to heart 
the lessons of experience that they donated a lot of ground 
near the furnaces as the site of the new building, besides aid- 
ing in other ways towards its erection. The corner-stone was 
laid by the Bishop June 19th, 1864, and the church was dedi- 
cated by the same prelate July 29th, 1866. The building, 
which is modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is 
frame, 90 feet in length by 45 in width, and has three altars. 
The finish is chaste and simple. 

Not long after the completion of the church the proprietors 
of the works also built a commodious frame house, which 
with a large lot they have since given rent free to the pastor 
for a residence. The congregation continued to increase until 
the time of the panic, when it was the largest and most flour- 
ishing in the county. In the summer of 1871 the church was 
neatly frescoed, and a steeple was built in the centre in front, 
which greatly improved its appearance. But the prostration 
of business consequent on the panic, which caused the works 
to cease operation, forced many of the people to seek employ- 



430 GERMAN CHURCH, BRADY'S BEND. 

meiit elsewhere. The works have not yet resumed and it is 
probable they never will, as the machinery, etc., is old and of 
the old style, and putting it in working order would be equiv- 
alent to erecting new works. But the discovery of oil in the 
immediate vicinity gave a transient stimulus to business. 
Father Walsh was succeeded by Rev. Peter May, the present 
pastor, in April, 1876. The congregation has never had a 
parish school. 

^ .^T. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, BRADY'S BEND. 

German Catholics were, as we have seen, among the first 
settlers attracted by the new iron-works. But they were not 
organized into a separate congregation until 1865. In the 
summer of that year they were occasionally visited by Father 
Chilian, one of the Benedictines from Butler, who purchased 
for their use a small Protestant church then offered for sale. 
It was soon after dedicated by the Bishop under the invoca- 
tion of the Mother of God. The building is frame and small, 
and is surmounted by a belfry, and, standing as jt does on the 
side of the hill, has a basement under half its length, which has 
been used from the beginning for a school. On the 15th of 
October of the same year it was relinquished by the Benedic- 
tines, and passed into the hands of the secular clergy. Rev. 
J. Zwickert was the first pastor, and after him came Rev. 
L. Spitzelberger ; and in the spring of 1868 Rev. Jos. Deyer- 
meyer. At the end of about two years he was succeeded by 
Rev. Jos. Buss. In the mean time a frame pastoral residence 
had been built. The cessation of the works on account of 
the panic forced many of the laborers to go elsewhere ; 
while the erection of a church on the opposite side of the 
river at East Brady's Bend, in the Diocese of Erie, drew 
away another portion. The decimated congregation being 
no longer able to exist as an independent organization, the 
pastor was transferred to another mission in the autumn of 
1875, and for a time the pastor of the English church offered 
up the Holy Sacrifice once on Sunday at the German church 
and once at his own. 

But the strength of the congregation returned with the 



KITTANNING. 431 

extension of the oil territory in that direction, and in the fall 
of 1877 Rev. J. Rittiger was appointed pastor. He was suc- 
ceeded in the following May by Rev. J. Stilierich, and he in 
the beginning of 1879 t)y Rev. Jos. Steger. St. Mary's is not 
so numerous now as it was before the panic, and, although 
it may be able to exist as a separate parish, its prospects 
are not flattering. 



KITTANNING. 

Kittanning, the county-seat of Armstrong County, is situ- 
ated on the east bank of the Allegheny River, 45 miles above 
Pittsburg. It was laid out in 1804, incorporated as a borough 
in 1 82 1, and had in 1870 a population of 1889. But many 
years before the town was built it was a place of note. The 
name is of Indian origin, being properly Kittanyan, which, it 
is said, signifies "■ tall corn." When in the middle of last cen- 
tury the French and Indians were at war with the English, a 
line of fortifications was built along the Susquehanna to pro- 
tect the frontier. But the Delaware Indians from their village 
of Kittanyan, where the famous chief Captain Jacobs, and 
occasionally also the chief Shingis, lived, made numerous 
and troublesome raids on the frontier settlers, until in the fall 
of 1756 Lieutenant-Colonel John Armstrong, from whom the 
county takes its name, who commanded the Susquehanna 
forts, planned an expedition for the destruction of the village 
and the liberation of the prisoners held by the Indians. He 
reached the place on the 8th of September, attacked and 
burnt the village, which consisted of about thirty houses and 
a large store of ammunition which the Indians had collected, 
and killed the dreaded Captain Jacobs. A fortification known 
by the name of Appleby's Fort was built on the site of the 
village for the protection of the frontier in 1776.* 

*' After the destruction of the Indian town, the location re- 
mained unimproved by white men until near the close of the 
last century. The land was in possession of the Armstrong 

* Annals of the West, and Pennsylvania Archives. 



432 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 



family ; and when the establishment of the county was pro- 
posed, Dr. Armstrong, of Carlisle, a son of the general, made 
a donation of the site of the town to the county, on condition 
of receiving one half the proceeds of the sale of lots."^ A plan 
of the town was soon after prepared, known as " the Arm- 
strong plot." 

ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 

The first members of what is now the congregation of St. 
Mary's settled about seven miles south-west of Kittanning, 
near Slate Lick, at the beginning of this century. The pio- 
neers were Andrew and Casper Easly and William Shields, 
from the Westmoreland County settlement. The first mem- 
ber on the eastern side of the river was Matthew Lambing, 
grandfather of the writer, who came from Adams County, 
Pa., in the fall of 1823 and settled soon after at Manorville, 
two miles below Kittanning. But the scattered few were 
obliged to travel to St. Patrick's, Sugar Creek, or later to 
Freeport, to hear Mass and comply with their other rehgious 
duties, or await the stations that were held at very distant 
intervals in the different settlements. I have heard my father 
say that he walked fasting to Freeport, a distance of more 
than fourteen miles, on three successive Sundays before he 
had an opportunity of confessing and receiving holy com- 
munion. At length a few families settled in Kittanning and 
in its immediate vicinity, and it was deemed expedient to have 
the Holy Sacrifice offered up in the town. The first time 
this took place was most probably in the summer of 1848, and 
the officiating priest was either Father Cody, of St. Patrick's, 
or Father Mitchell, of Freeport. Both came at times, the 
former, however, but seldom. In those early days Col. W. 
Sirwell, though not a Catholic, was, as he still is, the steadfast 
friend of the priest ; and it was generally in a room of his 
house that Mass was celebrated. About the year 1850 a 
small rolling-mill was built in the town, which attracted a 
number of Catholic laborers. Mass was then celebrated at 

* Day's Historical Collections, p. 97. 



CHANGES OF PASTORS. 



433 



shorter intervals in the court-house or academy by the pastor 
of Freeport. 

At length, in the summer of 1853, the little congregation 
had increased so much that a church became necessary for 
its accommodation. Lot No. i of " the Armstrong plot," situ- 
ated on the bank of the river at the northern end of the 
town, was purchased by Rev. E. Gray, and a church was 
built upon it. About the same time the grading of the Alle- 
gheny Valley Railroad from Pittsburg to Kittanning increased 
the congregation considerably for the time being. But the 
church, although occupied, remained unfinished for about ten 
years, without being plastered and with only temporary pews 
and altar. The visits of a priest were very irregular, and 
seldom oftener than once in two months, with frequent dis- 
appointments. It was visited in this manner by the priest 
from Freeport, Sugar Creek, Butler, Brady's Bend, or even 
by a priest of the Diocese of Erie from Clarion County. It 
was indeed " nobody's child." But from the appointment of 
Father Phelan to Freeport in the fall of 1858, Mass was cele- 
brated regularly on one Sunday in the month. 

Finally, in February, 1863, Rev. J. O'G. Scanlon was ap- 
pointed the first resident pastor. But the church was yet un- 
finished, and the steeple with which it had been provided had 
been blown off to the roof in the spring of 1858. Soon after 
his arrival Father Scanlon set about the completion of the in- 
terior, a work in which Cathohcs and Protestants vied with 
each other in the assistance they rendered him. The Avork 
was completed and the church reopened, although not then 
dedicated, February 7th, 1864. Not satisfied with this, he had 
it neatly frescoed in the summer of the same year, and dedi- 
cated by the Bishop on the 23d of October. While the im- 
provements of the church were going on Mass was offered 
up in the court-house. 

In December, 1865, Father Scanlon was succeeded by 
Rev. J. A. O'Rourke. But the rolling-mill was burnt down 
a little later, and many families moved away. The railroad 
was now extended up the river, and as the parish with its 
missions embraced twenty miles of the line, it proved to be a 
very timely assistance to the congregation in its reduced cir- 



434 



FURTHER CHANGES. 



cumstances. In the spring of 1870 Mr. John Gilpin, a Prot- 
estant gentlemen of the town, presented the church with a 
bell weighing twelve hundred pounds, and Father O'Rourke 
immediately erected the tower for its reception. It was 
blessed by Very Rev. J. Hickey, V.G., in the absence of the 
Bishop, April 3d. The church was now finished. It is a 
brick edifice 65 feet in length by 43 in width, having the tow^er 
in the centre in front. There is a high and one side altar, 
the space on the other side being occupied by the confessional. 
Father O'Rourke gave place to the writer of these pages on 
the 22d of the same April. Up to this date the pastor had 
lodged in a hotel or with a private family, but now a house 
was rented and he was more independent. Having remained 
until January 17th, 1873, and having made considerable im- 
provement in the church and around it, he was succeeded by 
Rev. E. J. Dignam. A few acres of ground were now pur- 
chased near the town for a cemetery. 

The difficulty experienced by one priest in attending the 
numerous missions, especially after the building of the Holy 
Guardian Angels' Church, next to be noticed, induced the 
Bishop to appoint an assistant to the pastor in the summer of 
1876. But at the end of a year and a half the parish was 
again left to the care of one priest. The congregation has 
declined in the past few 3^ears, and will not exceed sixty fami- 
lies in number, which are, as they always have been, English 
and German mixed. But new and larger iron-works are now 
being built, and the prospects of future increase are flattering. 
The pastor has been obliged to give up his house and return 
to boarding with a private family. 

A number of missions were always attached to Kittanning, 
and were attended monthly on week-days. One of these, 
eight miles above the town at the site of the old Ore Hill 
Furnace, consisted of about half a dozen families of railroad 
men. Another, two miles farther up at the mouth of Mahon- 
ing Creek, was of the same kind. Ten miles east from the 
latter place, at Colwell's Furnace, was another, consisting of 
about twenty-five families; but in the summer of 1878 the 
furnace blew out with the intention of never again being put 
into blast, and all the famiUes went elsewhere. Finally, fif- 



HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS' CHURCH. 



435 



teen miles above Kittanning and two miles east from the 
river is a settlement, principally German, consisting of about 
twenty families, where — in the house of John Harman — Mass 
has been celebrated for thirty years. This mission has lately 
been attached to the German church at Brady's Bend. The 
Catholics have left all the other missions. There are few 
Catholics in the county east of the river, and west of it to the 
north-west of Kittanning there are but two or three families 
in a circuit of seven miles. Father Dignam was succeeded by 
the present pastor. Rev. Thos. Howley, December, 1878. 

HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS' CHURCH, EASLV'S SETTLEMENT. 

For sixty years the Holy Sacrifice had been offered up at 
distant and irregular intervals, now in the house of one farmer, 
now in that of another in the Easly settlement, about eight 
miles south-west of Kittanning ; and a lot of ground consisting 
of about an acre had also been set apart for half a century as 
the site of a church to be built when times and circumstances 
should favor its erection. The Catholics of the vicinity be- 
longed at first to the congregation of St. Patrick's Church, 
Sugar Creek, then to Freeport, and after the erection of the 
church at Kittanning the}^ attached themselves with few ex- 
ceptions to it. At length the time seemed to have arrived for 
the building of the church ; and the writer, who was at that 
time pastor of the Kittanning congregation, undertook it in 
the summer of 1872. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop 
June 1 6th, and in the summer and autumn the building was 
put up, but not finished. In this condition it remained, and 
Mass was offered in it upon a temporary altar once or twice 
in the month on Sunday by the pastor of Kittanning, who 
drove from one church to the other between the Masses until 
the summer of 1878, when it was finished. It was dedicated 
by the Bishop, under the invocation of the Holy Guardian 
Angels, on their feast, October 2d of the same year. The 
church is brick, and is 57 feet in length by 32 in width, is 
modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, and is with- 
out a steeple. The interior is furnished with three altars. 
The site upon which it is built was donated by Mr. Casper 



436 PARKER CITY. 

Easly. Mass continues to be celebrated as before. The con- 
gregation consists of about twenty families, and it will not 
undergo any perceptible change for many years to come. 

PARKER CITY. 

The last church that we have to notice in this county is 
situated in the extreme northern part of it. Parker City is 
on the west bank of the Allegheny River, 82 miles above 
Pittsburg. It was formerly a place of no importance, and 
was known only to boatmen as Parker's Landing. The little 
village on the hill at the southern part, where the church now 
stands, was called Laurenceburg. Oil was first discovered 
here in 1865, but it was not until July, 1869, that it was found 
in such quantities as to create an excitement, and no one who 
has not seen it can form an idea of what an oil excitement is. 
Hundreds of oil dealers and producers from the more north- 
ern fields hastened thither, while large numbers of others in 
search of work or speculation, or something worse, crowded 
the throng, and in a few weeks it presented a scene that beg- 
gars description. Inasmuch as it has since been the repre- 
sentative town of the lower oil region, a few remarks on it 
may be interesting to the reader. On the eastern side of the 
river, which is traversed by the Allegheny Valley Railroad, 
there is no bottom-land on which to build ; but a station- 
house was erected and ferries started, and later a bridge 
spanned the river and a mushroom town sprung up on the 
narrow bottom and on the hill on the west. Soon it con- 
tained a population of from 2000 to 3000, and was chartered 
as Parker City in the fall of 1873. It contained hotels, stores, 
banks, machine-shops, theatres — all but churches. Here 
lumber, engines, pipe, tools, and all the paraphernalia of the 
oil business were unloaded from the cars in incredible quan- 
tities and of every conceivable variety, and hauled to the 
surrounding country. Derricks, or '' rigs" as they are com- 
monly called, were put up by the hundred, and pipe-lines 
traversed the country in every direction. From 30,000 to 
40,000 barrels of oil, and frequently a great deal more, changed 
hands daily ; property was bought, leased, and sold, and all 



AN OIL-CO UNTR V TO WN. 



437 



was done peculiar to the oil business. But such a population 
is seldom brought together. Many were without the con- 
trolling influence of religion or pubhc opinion, or any other 
restraint. Business men, crazed with speculation, forgot the 
principles of honesty, and not unfrequently those also of pru- 
dence ; the common crowd forgot those of virtue, and hun- 
dreds plunged into the deepest ocean of immorality. To say 
all in one word, there was presented the bustle and excite- 
ment of Wall Street, the hurry and confusion of Broadway, 
and the morality of Pentapolis. Catholics who were exem-. 
plary at home found it difficult to withstand the current that 
set in against them ; those who were remiss at home were 
little short of infidels here ; and many of the girls who were 
attracted to the hotels and other places by ready employ- 
ment and high wages were soon swallowed up in a vortex of 
hopeless depravity. So fetid was the immorality of the at- 
mosphere that it might be felt like the Egyptian darkness 
of old. Such was Parker as I have seen it in the early days 
of its history as an oil town, and such in a greater or less de- 
gree are all the towns in the oil country while the oil excite- 
ment remains at its height among them. But after a few 
years business became more settled, and the unbridled throng 
began to disperse and go to other places. In the early part 
of 1874 the Parker and Karns City Railroad began to carry 
much of the freight directly to the "front," and the excite- 
ment and activity of Parker City was diminished. 

CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 

The ramifications of the Donegal colony appear to have 
extended as far as Laurenceburg, for we read in the United 
States Catholic Miscellany of Bishop Kenrick visiting the place 
September 6th, 1831, and confirming eighty-three persons. 
But these were doubtless collected from the surrounding 
country for a considerable distance. Be that as it may, we 
hear nothing more of the place until the discovery of oil in- 
fused a new life into it. Soon after that time it was visited 
by Rev. Joseph Haney, of Murrinsville, who offered up the 
Holy Sacrifice in a private house in 1869. He continued to 



438 CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 

do so until July of the following year, when lots were pur- 
chased on the hill at the southern part of the city and a 
church was commenced! It was occupied in October, al- 
though not finished until the middle of the next summer, and 
even then much remained to be done, but it was left for the 
present. It was then a frame building about 45 feet in length 
by 30 in width, but without pretension to architectural style. 
In March, 1871, Rev. J. Stillerich was appointed first resident 
pastor, and he remained until November of the same year, 
when he was succeeded by Rev. Jas. P. Tahany. To his en- 
ergy and zeal the Church in Parker as well as elsewhere 
owes much of its temporal development. He built a neat 
frame pastoral residence beside the church, and later, when 
the congregation had increased, he enlarged the church by 
the addition of 18 feet to the front, with a belfry and certain 
decorations, and 24 feet to the rear in the form of a transept. 
The interior was also finished and the church was dedicated 
by the Bishop, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, 
November 24th, 1874. On the same day, as we shall see, the 
church at Petrolia, erected by the same laborious priest, was 
dedicated. He also opened a school, but the scattered char- 
acter of the congregation prevented it from enjoying the 
patronage upon which its existence depended, and it was dis- 
continued after a few months. 

Father Tahany was succeeded in December, 1875, by Rev. 
Jas. Donnelly. The difficulty of attending the church at 
Parker and that at Petrolia, which has always been attached 
to it, rendered it necessary to appoint an assistant to the pas- 
tor, and two priests attended the churches until August, 1879. 
Father Donnelly gave place in October, 1877, to Rev. P. M. 
Garvey, and he in August, 1879, ^o the present pastor, Rev. 
F. X. McCarthy. The congregation is nov/ in a prosperous 
condition aiid will number perhaps a hundred families, and 
although oil towns have no stability as a rule, it is probable 
this will to some extent form an exception at least for a few 
years. But no considerable growth of the congregation is to 
be expected. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

BUTLER COUNTY. 

The Indians and Moravians — Location of the Catholic inhabitants — St. Peter's 
German Church, Butler — St. Paul's Church — St. Bridget's Chapel, M 'Neil's 
Settlement — St. Wendehn's Chapel — St. Mary's German Church, Summit — 
St. Joseph's Church, North Oakland — St. Joseph's German Church — St. 
John's Church, Clearfield — Church of the Mother of Sorrows, Millerstown 
—St, Alphonsus' Church, Murrinsville — Death and sketch of Rev, Joseph 
Haney — Chapel at Fairview — St. James' Church, Petrolia. 

From the following extract, which is given for what it is 
worth, it would appear that after the withdrawal of the 
French soldiers and their chaplains from the western part of 
the State, a few Indians who had been converted to Catho- 
licity roamed through the forests, many, if not all of them, to 
lose their faith, as not a few of the pioneer whites afterwards 
did. " From a map attached to Loskiel's history of the Mo- 
ravian missions, we learn that there existed about the year 
1770 an Indian village called Kaskaskunk, some eight or ten 
miles north-west of Butler. It appears from Loskiel that a 
chief of the Delawares, Pakanke, dwelt here, and a warrior 
and speaker of some distinction called Glikkikan. The latter 
had heard of the arrival of the Moravian missionary Zeisber- 
ger and his brethren among the Senecas, at Lauanakanuck, on 
the Allegheny above Venango, and as he had formerly been 
initiated in the Catholic doctrines by the priests in Canada, 
and had been a teacher among his own people, he determined 
to go and refute and resist the newly ingrafted heresy of the 
Moravians.""^ The account goes on to say that he embraced 
the doctrines of the sect he had come to oppose. 

The English-speaking portion of the Catholics of this 

* Day's Historical Collections, p. 172. 



440 



BUTLER. 



county are for the most part descendants of the original 
Donegal colony, and are principally confined to the eastern 
and north-eastern sections, where they named Donegal town- 
ship in honor of the home they had forsaken in their native 
isle. The remaining portions of the county contain but a few 
scattered families, if we except Butler town and its immediate 
vicinity, in which the German element greatly predominates. 

ST. PETER'S GERMAN CHURCH, BUTLER. 

Butler, the seat of justice of the county of the same name, 
was laid out in the year 1800, was incorporated as a borough 
February 26th, 181 7, and had in 1870 a population of 1935. 
It is connected with Freeport by the Butler branch of the 
Western Pennsylvania Railroad, and with Parker's Landing 
by a narrow-gauge road. The first Catholic settlers of the 
town and vicinity were the gradual extension of the Donegal 
colony. They usually heard Mass and complied with their 
religious duties at St. Patrick's Church, Sugar Creek, from 
which they were distant about twelve miles ; or the pastor of 
that church held stations among them at distant intervals. 
Weary at length with travelling so great a distance for the 
consolations of religion, they determined to build a church for 
themselves. Mrs. Collins, a Catholic widow lady, donated an 
acre of ground immediately south-east of the town as the site 
of the church, and the building was begun most probably 
about the year 1829. There were at that time no more than 
six or eight families. Immediately after this German immi- 
grants began to arrive in considerable numbers, and settle in 
the town and around it. Bishop Kenrick visited the place in 
1 831; but tradition has transmitted no further particulars 
than that he administered confirmation but did not dedicate 
the church, which was not yet finished. Soon after Mr. Evan 
Evans, son-in-law of Mrs. Collins, donated another acre of 
ground for a cemetery. After the completion of the church 
it was usually visited on one Sunday of the month by the 
pastor of Sugar Creek. The Bishop came a second time, on 
Wednesday, May 21st, 1834, in company with Rev. F. Mas- 
quelet and Rev. A. F. Van de Wejer, from Pittsburg, and on 



ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BUTLER. 441 

the following Sunday dedicated the church under the invoca- 
tion of the Prince of the Apostles. Sixty were confirmed and 
one hundred and fifty received Holy Communion. The con- 
gregation is said to have trebled its numbers in a short time, 
owing to the arrival of Germans. Father Masquelet visited 
the town once in the month for some time ; for during a few 
months there was no pastor at Sugar Creek, and until 1840 
a German priest came regularly from Pittsburg to minister 
to his countrymen. In June of that year came the first resi- 
dent pastor. Rev. F. Kiihr, who remained until the autumn of 
the year following. He was then succeeded by Rev. H. P. 
Gallagher, who exercised the pastoral duties until the early 
part of 1844, when he gave place to Rev. M. J. Mitchell, who 
also visited Mercer and Murrinsville. A Redemptorist 
father came monthly from Pittsburg to minister to the Ger- 
mans. Father Mitchell was succeeded in May, 1847, by Rev. 
M. Creedon. During this time the congregation had been 
increasing, and the little church could no longer accommo- 
date the crowds that gathered to it from every side. A new 
church must be built. But a difficulty arose ; for the Ger- 
mans, who were the majority, wanted a church of their own, 
while the English, although greatly in the minority, claimed 
the same privilege. Bishop O'Connor effected a compromise 
by promising a priest who should be master of both lan- 
guages. The Germans lived in the town and its immediate 
neighborhood, while the English lived for the most part at a 
distance. Lots, by no means the best that could be desired, 
were purchased in the town, and the corner-stone of the new 
church was laid by the Bishop August 6th, 1848. Prior to 
this St. Joseph's Church, Donegal (now North Oakland), had 
been built, which drew away a considerable number of the 
English families. The new church was dedicated by the 
Bishop October 14th, 1849. It is a brick edifice, 116 feet 
in length by 58 in width, and though of no particular style of 
architecture contains elements of Byzantine rather than of 
the Gothic. The massive tower was not built until about 
1870, when the Benedictine fathers had charge of the congre- 
gation. The church contains three altars, and the whole is 
finished in a chaste rather than a decorative style. But now 



442 ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BUTLER. 

a new difficulty arose. In addition to what had been drawn 
away by the church at Donegal, a new loss of the English 
element was sustained by the erection of St. John's Church 
near Coylesville, which was built about the year 1854. The 
congregation of St. Peter's was now almost exclusively Ger- 
man, and the church has always been regarded as of that 
nationality. 

Soon after the completion of the church a large brick 
pastoral residence was built by Father Creedon, the last 
English pastor of the congregation. He was succeeded in 
185 1 by Rev. J. N. Tamchina, and for some years the pastor 
of Sugar Creek paid an occasional visit to the English. 
Father Tamchina gave place to Rev. Jos. Gezowski in Sep- 
tember, 1852, and he in 1854 to the Benedictine fathers, who 
established a priory. A school-house was built about the 
year 1864, and a school opened by a lay teacher. The con- 
gregation was still gradually increasing. The Benedictines 
withdrew in the autumn of 1872, and the congregation passed 
once more into the hands of the secular clergy. But after it 
had been presided over for about a year by Rev. J. M. Bierl, 
it was confided to the fathers of the Carmelite Order, who 
still have charge of it. Wishing to improve the school, they 
built a brick pastoral residence in 1875 and gave the old one, 
which is large, to a number of Sisters of St. Francis from St. 
Joseph's Convent, Pittsburg, as a convent. They took charge 
of the schools in January, 1876. They also conduct an 
academy for a few boarders from the vicinity. 

The congregation is gradually improving, and is the 
largest and most flourishing in the county, containing more 
than one hundred and fifty families. 

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BUTLER. 

I have already traced the history of the English Catholics 
of Butler to the arrival of the Benedictine fathers in 1854. 
From that time, as before, they continued to frequent the 
German church, yet never felt at home in it, but looked for- 
ward to the time when their numbers should justify them in 
undertaking a church of their own — a period which from the 



ST. BRIDGET'S CHAPEL. 443 

tardy growth of the town seemed as yet far distant. But 
patience has a certain reward, and at length it came. It was 
not, however, their numbers, but rather the wealth of a few, 
that was to surmount all difficulties. Mr. Peter Duffy, then 
as now the leading- member of the congregation, donated a 
very eligible lot in the town as the site of the new church. The 
corner-stone was laid by the Bishop June 7th, 1866, and the 
church was dedicated by the same prelate February 17th of 
the following year. It is a brick building 73 feet in length by 
38 in width, with a steeple in the centre in front, and two 
altars. The ceiling rises from the sides toward the centre, 
and the interior is finished in a chaste rather than expensive 
manner. The wealth that erected the church also took the 
place of numbers in supporting the pastors. Of these there 
were before the year 1871 Revs. S. Barrett, James Nolan, F. 
O'Shea, and F. X. McCarthy. In that year came Rev. Ed- 
ward M'S weeny, who remained until the fall of 1876, when 
he was succeeded by the present pastor. Rev. W. A. Nolan. 
A very neat brick pastoral residence was built by the side of 
the church in 1874. The proximity of the oil-field and the 
traffic which it brings to Butler have improved the town in the 
last few years and increased the congregation. But the lat- 
ter will number no more than about forty families. 

ST. BRIDGET'S CHAPEL, M'NEIL'S SETTLEMENT. 

McNeil's Settlement is about nine miles south-west of But- 
ler, and contains about half a dozen families of farmers. When 
Father Nolan was pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Sharpsburg, 
in 1865, he visited the place, which is about seventeen miles 
to the north, and ministered to the little flock. On a subse- 
quent visit he purchased the Methodist Episcopal church, a 
diminutive frame building, then offered for sale, at a cost of 
$200, and blessed it under the title of St. Bridget's Church. 
It is visited a few times in the year on week-days by the pas- 
tor of the English church at Butler. The congregation, if 
such it may be called, has little present importance or future, 
prospect. 



444 ^^' WENDELIN'S CHAPEL. 



ST. WENDELIN S CHAPEL. 

This chapel, which stands in a country place about ten 
miles north-east of Butler, has a somewhat unique history. 
The date of its erection is uncertain, but as near as can be as- 
certained at present, it was about the year 1845, or before that 
time. Although there are different accounts, the circumstances 
appear to have been these : A small number of German fami- 
lies settled there, and among them was an eccentric school- 
teacher by the name of Miiller, who aspired to the dignity of 
a teacher of divine as well as of human sciences. He pos- 
sessed great influence over the simple-minded people, and in- 
duced them to purchase a few acres of land and build a chapel 
in honor of St. Wendelin, which should in time, as he prom- 
ised them, become a place of pilgrimage like the celebrated 
shrine of the saint at Treves, in Prussia. The chapel w^as 
built and with it a house for the school-teacher, and here he 
taught school. But as the people lived far from a church and 
could hear Mass but seldom, he was accustomed to assemble 
them in the chapel on Sunday for prayers. He also dis- 
coursed to them occasionally. But proceeding further with 
his usurpations than they were willing to follow him, he was 
forced to leave the place, and he became afterwards a verita- 
ble preacher of one of the sects. 

It is not known with certainty at what time the Holy Sac- 
rifice was first offered up in the chapel, but it was the German 
priest of Butler who paid these occasional visits on w^eek-days. 
The old chapel was at length replaced by a new one, when it 
began to be regularly used as a parish church. The ceremo- 
ny of the dedication was performed by Very Rev. J. Hickey, 
Vicar-General and Administrator, January i6th, 1876. The 
church is a frame building 72 feet in length by 37 in width, is 
neatly finished, and has three altars. It is visited every Sun- 
day by one of the Carmelite fathers from Butler, and notwith- 
standing that there are but eighteen families they 3^et have a 
Catholic school. Who can withhold his admiration of their 
devotion to the cause of Catholic education, when he sees a 
handful of families so courageously surmount every obstacle 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH, SUMMIT. 445 

and make every sacrifice necessary to secure- for their chil- 
dren the advantages of a Christian training ! It is not at all 
probable that the little congregation is destined to undergo 
any considerable change for many years. 

ST. MARY'S GERMAN CHURCH, SUMMIT. 

This church is situated in the midst of one of the most de- 
lightful agricultural districts in Western Pennsylvania, about 
five miles south of Butler and near the line of the Butler 
branch of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad. At an early 
day a small number of German Catholic families settled in the 
vicinity of the spot now occupied by the church, and after 
Mass had been celebrated for them for some time in a private 
house by the priest residing at Butler, or by one of the Re- 
dem.ptorist fathers from Pittsburg, a few of the leading men 
sent a petition to Bishop Kenrick, of Philadelphia, early in the 
summer of 1842, asking permission to build a church. It was 
granted, and four men whose farms centred at the same spot 
each donated an acre of ground for church purposes, to which, 
some years later, each added another acre. The church was 
soon after undertaken, and when finished was dedicated to 
the August Mother of God by Rev. Joseph Muller, C.SS.R., 
July 6th, 1845. It was an unassuming brick building, 50 feet 
in length by 36 in width. Although an humble residence was 
built for the priest in 1847, ^^^d was replaced by a better one 
in 1853, the congregation continued for a little time to be 
visited from Butler and Pittsburg before a resident pastor was 
appointed. Soon after the Benedictine fathers took charge 
of the congregation at Butler, St. Mary's was also given into 
their hands. In 1855 it is said to have numbered eighty fami- 
lies. To enlarge the church an addition was made to the rear 
of it, consisting of a sanctuary and sacristies, in 1862 ; but not- 
withstanding this it was still too small. It was then enlarged 
to its present dimensions in 1866, but this was done by using 
as much of the existing building as possible. When finished 
it was dedicated by the Bishop, February 19th, 1867. The 
church is now 100 feet in length by 45 in width, has a steeple 
in the centre in front, and is modelled after the Gothic st3'le 



446 ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NORTH OAKLAND. 

of architecture. There are three altars, dedicated respec- 
tively to Our Lady of the Assumption, to the Mother of 
Sorrows, and to St. Wendelin. After the withdrawal of the 
Benedictine fathers from Butler, St. Mary's reverted to the 
secular clergy, with whom it remained until 1876, when it 
was given into the hands of the Capuchin fathers from St. 
Augustine's Church, Pittsburg, who immediately built a brick 
monastery adjoining the church, 92 feet in length by 32 in 
width, and established the mother-house of their order for the 
diocese there. 

A school was opened at an early day — the date has not been 
ascertained — in a frame building erected for that purpose, 
and has since been conducted by a lay teacher. The congre- 
gation will number at present about one hundred and twenty 
families, about one fourth of which are English, and its pros- 
pects for the future are a gradual increase. 

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NORTH OAKLAND. 

The church noAV under consideration is about eight miles 
north-east of Butler, is a short distance south of the narrow- 
gauge railroad extending from Parker's Landing to Butler, 
and is near the centre of the original Donegal colony. Until 
recently it was known as St. Joseph's, Donegal. Although 
originally an Irish settlement, there were at the date of the 
erection of the church a large proportion of German families. 
This date, however, is uncertain, but according to the best 
information I could obtain — which, in the case of this congre- 
gation, is very limited — it was about the year 1846, or per- 
haps a little later. The church, a small frame building, was 
put up by a somewhat independent movement on the part of 
the people, and the independence with which it began has 
suffered no abatement in the lapse of time. From the begin- 
ning Mass was usually celebrated twice in the month, once 
each by the German priest of Butler and the English priest of 
Sugar Creek, and later, from about 1861, by that of Brady's 
Bend. But in course of time, perhaps in 1867, the church 
was favored v/ith a resident pastor familiar with both the 
German and English languages. The first was Rev. D. Dev- 



ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH. 447 

lin, after whom came Rev. Joseph Steger. In the mean time a 
pastoral residence was built. Soon after the discovery of oil 
at Parker's Landing the field began also to extend toward 
North Oakland ; the congregation increased, the old church 
became too small, and Rev. Jos. Deyermeyer, who succeeded 
Father Steger in the summer of 1872, undertook the erection 
of a new and larger one. The corner-stone was laid by 
Bishop Domenec September 5th, 1872, and the church was 
dedicated by the same prelate January 28th, 1874. It is 
modelled after the Gothic style of architecture, is about 90 
feet in length by 45 in width, and has a steeple in the centre 
in front. The interior is very neatly finished, and contains 
three altars. Father Deyermeyer was now succeeded by 
Rev. John Ritter, who remained until the beginning of 1876, 
when he gave place to Rev. Thos. Davin. Prior to this 
date oil was discovered within the limits of the parish, a 
circumstance which greatly increased its wealth and num- 
bers ; and for the size of it, it is now by far the wealthiest 
congregation in Western Pennsylvania. 

Father Davin built an elegant frame pastoral residence in 
the latter part of 1877. The congregation since the division 
consists of about eighty families, all of whom are farmers ; 
but it is not probable that it will undergo any great change 
m the immediate future. Father Davin was succeeded by 
Rev. E. J. Dignam in December, il 



ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CHURCH, NORTH OAKLAND. 

When the Germans of St. Joseph's congregation were de- 
prived of a pastor who was familiar with their language, they 
sought to remove the disadvantage under which they labored. 
Having obtained permission to separate and organize a dis- 
tinct congregation, they fitted up the old church, then out of 
repair, and had it rededicated by Very Rev. R. Phelan, Adm., 
July 1 8th, 1877, and they are now visited every Sunday by 
one of the Capuchin fathers from the Summit. A school-house 
has also been provided and a school opened, although the num- 
ber of famihes is but thirty. 



448 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLEARFIELD. 

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLEARFIELD. 

The congregation of St. John's was formed in part each 
from those of Sugar Creek, Freeport, and Butler. Before 
the erection of the church stations had been occasionally held 
at Coylesville, but in time the people resolved to build a 
church. After considerable debating on the most central 
locality, the present site was adopted, and work was com- 
menced in the summer of 1853. The church is situated in a 
country place about a mile south of Coylesville and of the 
State road from Kittanning to Butler, and is equidistant 
from, each town. The corner-stone was laid by Rev. John 
Larkin, of Freeport, August 15th of the above year, and the 
church was finished and dedicated in the course of the fol- 
lowing summer. It is a brick building, modelled after the 
Gothic style, is 85 feet in length by 45 in width, and has a 
steeple in the centre in front. The finish of the interior is 
rather chaste than expensive. Before the appointment of a 
resident priest the congregation was under the care of the 
pastor of Freeport, and it was visited on one Sunday in the 
month until the summer of 1855. Rev. R. C. Christy was 
then appointed resident pastor. He built a pastoral residence, 
and later a school-house, in which school was taught during 
a few summers, but not regularly. 

Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion Father Christy 
was appointed chaplain of the Seventy-eighth Regmient 
Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was succeeded at St. John's by 
Rev. P. M. Doyle, in the latter part of the summer of 1862. 
During the time that had elapsed from the organization of 
the parish, its growth had been very moderate. Father Doyle 
remained until the close of the year 1873, when he was suc- 
ceeded by the present pastor. Rev. Patrick Brown. The 
proximity of the oil-fields on the north and Avest has improved 
the congregation in the last two years ; but the benefit it de- 
rives from this source will be transitory. It will number about 
one hundred and fifty families, almost all of whom are Irish or 
of Irish descent, whose ancestors formed a part of the original 
Donegal colony. Being exclusively farmers, no change is 
to be expected in the congregation for many years. 



CHURCH AT MILLER STOWN. 



449 



CHURCH OF THE MOTHER OF SORROWS, MILLERSTOWN. 

Millerstown lies on the eastern boundary of Butler 
County, about eleven miles north-east of Butler, and it had 
in 1870 a population of 207 souls. It was a quiet village 
until the oil excitement reached it about the year 1874, when, 
like all places in the oil regions, it assumed a degree of ac- 
tivity and corruption which those only can appreciate who 
have the misfortune of being acquainted with the ordinary 
effects of the discovery of oil upon the morals of those who 
throng to the spot. The narrow-gauge railroad which was 
about that time built from Parker to Butler passes through 
the village. 

Previous to this time the few Catholic families who lived 
in the village and its vicinity heard Mass either at North Oak- 
land or Sugar Creek. But now that the floating population 
increased their numbers, it was deemed expedient to build a 
church in the village. A lot was accordingly secured and a 
building commenced in the summer of 1875 by the pastor of 
Sugar Creek, Rev. P. M. Doyle, to whose jurisdiction it per- 
tained. When finished it was dedicated to the Mother of 
Sorrows, November 7th, by Father Hickey, Vicar-General, in 
the absence of the Bishop in Rome. The church is a neat„ 
plain frame building, capable of accommodating about three 
hundred persons, and is without belfr}^ or steeple. It has 
always been visited every Sunday from Sugar Creek, from 
which it is about six miles distant, although the labor of 
ministering to the two churches is very considerable, espe- 
cially in inclement weather. From the time the church was 
finished the congregation continued to increase, and it was 
feared that an addition would have to be built. But in the 
beginning of 1878, when the production of oil began to de- 
crease, and when new fields were developed in the northern 
part of the State, much of the floating population was drawn 
away, and the congregation was reduced by half. It is prob- 
able that the production of oil will ere long entirely cease, an 
event which will reduce the congregation to a small number 
of original residents. Should that day arrive, and it is only a 



450 



MURRINSVILLE. 



question of time, the church will not be visited more than 
once, or at most twice, in the month. As to hopes of increase 
m the future by the gradual settlement of a permanent popu- 
lation, they are so slender as to merit no consideration. 

ST. ALPHONSUS' CHURCH, MURRINSVILLE. 

The village of Murrinsville is situated in the extreme 
northern part of Butler County and of the diocese, and is 
about twenty miles north from Butler and eleven west from 
Parker's Landing. The congregation is properly the eastern 
portion of the Slippery Rock settlement, which was an exten- 
sion of the Donegal colony, made two 3^ears after the first 
settlement in 1796. Slippery Rock station — for no church 
was ever built there — is a few miles west of Murrinsville, and 
was from the beginning occasionally visited by missionaries. 
It is impossible to determine at present how frequent these 
visits were, but it is certain they were never oftener than 
once in two months. The first visit was that of Father Lani- 
gan, in 1801, and the second that of Father Heilbron, in 1803. 
Later it depended on Sugar Creek, then on Butler, and 
lastly on Murrinsville, and stations are occasionally held at 
present, although, on account of the backwardness of the 
place, religion has not flourished. Murrinsville also became 
a regular missionary station early in the century ; but prior 
to the year 1844 it was not visited more frequently than once 
in tAvo months ; but being on the line of the turnpike from 
Pittsburg, by way of Butler to Franklin, it enjoyed a certain 
amount of notoriety that would be more esteemed in those 
early days than at present. Bishop Kenrick's first visit took 
place May 27th, 1834, and the following is taken from an 
account of it published in the Catholic Herald. The descrip- 
tion of the village, it may be remarked, will apply as well 
to our day as it did to his : 

'* The number of Catholics found here, and in the other 
stations of this direction, far exceeded the Bishop's anticipa- 
tion and the general impression. Although Murrinsville has 
only four houses, thirty -five persons received communion and 
thirty were confirmed. The number of communions would 



DEATH OF REV. JOSEPH HANEY. 451 

have been doubled had a second day been given to the 
Cathohcs of this neighborhood." 

At length a church was determined upon, the contract for 
which was drawn up August 23d, 1841, although work was 
not commenced until the following April. The date of its 
completion and dedication is uncertain. The church is an 
unassuming stone building, 60 feet in length by 40 in width. 
From the summer of 1844 to that of 1850 Mass was usually 
celebrated on one Sunday in the month by the priest residing 
at Butler. But at the end of that time Rev. M. J. Mitchell was 
appointed first resident pastor. He was succeeded in April, 
1854, by Rev. P. M. Doyle, who remained about a year. The 
church was then visited once a month from New Castle till 
October, 1859, when Rev. P. Hughes was appointed pastor. 
Having remained until December of the following year, he 
gave place to Rev. Thos. Walsh, who lived a short time at 
Murrinsville before taking up his residence at Brady's Bend, 
from which he visited it until March, 1863. From that date 
until the present the congregation has enjoyed the advantages 
of a resident pastor. Rev. J. C. Bigham was the first, then 
came Rev. C. V. Neeson, next Rev. Jos. Haney, who re- 
mained until about the beginning of 1871, when his health be- 
gan to fail, and he was transferred to a less arduous mission. 
But it was to no purpose, and he died at CarroUtown on the 
6th of February, 1872, being in the 33d year of his age. His 
remains repose in the cemetery attached to the church there. 

Rev. Joseph Haney was a native of Watertown, county 
Londonderry, Ireland- Having almost completed his studies 
in his native land, he came to America and attached himself 
to the Diocese of Pittsburg in the summer of 1862, where he 
was ordained on the. 8th of the following February. He was 
at first appointed assistant to the pastor of the church at Johns- 
town, but before the end of a year he was transferred to 
the church of Brownsville, where he remained until sent to 
Murrinsville. 

He was succeeded at Murrinsville by Father Neeson, who 
was pastor for the second time ; and he in September, 1876, 
by the present pastor. Rev. Jas. F. Tobin. 

A farm of 160 acres lying about a mile from the church 



452 FAIRVIEW—PETROLIA. 

was bequeathed to it by Mr. John Murrin. Father Neeson 
built a pastoral residence. 

In the summer of 1855 there are said to have been seventy 
families, and the congregation has increased a little since that 
time in numbers and wealth. But owing to the absence of 
traffic and travel from the locality, the increase will be very 
moderate in the future. The people are farmers, and are for 
the most part descendants of the early Irish emigrants. 



CHAPEL AT FAIRVIEW. 

The little frame chapel at the village of Fairview, about 
seven miles south-west from Parker's Landing, has never been 
dedicated nor honored with the name of a saint. It was built 
by a Mr. Charles Collins about the year 1863, from a bequest 
of his father for the benefit of the few Catholic families living 
in that neighborhood. But the bequest sufficed merely for 
the erection of the shell of the building, and it remained un- 
finished, although Mass was celebrated in it on one Sunday of 
the month by the pastor of Murrinsville until a resident pastor 
was appointed for Parker's Landing, when it passed to his 
jurisdiction. Soon after the arrival of Rev. J. P. Tahany at 
the latter place at the close of the year 1 871, he took measures 
for its completion. He then offered up the Holy Sacrifice in 
it occasionally until the erection of the church at Petrolia, 
next to engage our attention, which, standing but a short dis- 
tance off, drcAv away the little flock. Since that time Mass is 
seldom offered within its walls, and it may be said to be with- 
out a congregation. 

ST. JAMES' CHURCH, PETROLIA. 

Petrolia, about eight miles south-west of Parker's Land- 
ing, though of recent growth is the most flourishing town in 
the interior of the Butler County oil territory. The comple- 
tion of the Parker and Karns City narrow-gauge railroad 
through it, which took place in February, 1874, added con- 
siderably to its business and importance. Catholics were 
early found among its inhabitants, and Father Tahany, of 



ST. JAMES' CHURCH, PETROLIA. ■ 453 

Parker's Landing — to which the congregation has always been 
attached — rented a hall in the autumn of 1873, where he 
offered up the adorable Sacrifice every Sunday, riding from 
the one town to the other between his two Masses. Measures 
were at the same time taken to purchase a lot and commence 
the building of a church with the opening of spring. It was 
done ; the church was built, and, as we have seen, was dedi- 
cated by the Bishop, under the invocation of St. James, 
November 22d, 1874. It is a neat frame building of no special 
style of architecture, 75 feet in length by 35 in width, without 
a tower, but with a basement under the rear half that would 
serve for a school. Mass is celebrated every Sunday by the 
priest of Parker's Landing. The congregation was at one 
time as large and flourishing as the one of that place, but it 
will not be so permanent. It has already commenced to 
decline, and will soon be reduced to perhaps one fourth of 
what it once numbered. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

BEAVER AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES. 

Visit of a French missionary — Sts. Peter and Paul's Ciiurch, Beaver — Death and 
sketch of Rev. James Reid — St. Cecilia's Church, Rochester — St. John the 
Baptist's Church, Baden — St. Joseph's Church, New Brighton — St. Rose's 
Church, Cannelton — St. Mary's German Church, Beaver Falls — St. James' 
Church, New Bedford — St. Mary's Church, New Castle — St. Francis Xavier's 
Church, Stonerstown — St. Teresa's Church, Clinton. 

Catholicity, although never in a very flourishing condi- 
tion in this part of the diocese, yet dates its history froni a 
remote period. It is related that as the French retired from 
Fort Duquesne when the English obtained possession of it, 
in November, 1758, their chaplain passed up the Beaver 
valley on his way to the French posts in the north-western 
part of the State. While doing so, he stopped at Mount 
Jackson in the present Lawrence County, about forty miles 
north-west of Pittsburg and four from the State line, to visit 
an Irish Catholic family of the name of O'Brien. Having re- 
mained a short time and baptized three members of the 
family, he passed further north-east into the present Butler 
County, where he visited a French family of the name of 
Crafiere. Soon after the commencement of the present cen- 
tury — to pass over the intervening time — Catholic families 
principally Irish, and, in the northern part, an extension of the 
Donegal colony, settled at different places in the valley, but 
principally at New Castle and Beaver, as will be seen more 
in detail as we proceed. The first to attract the attention of 
missionaries was the latter town. 



STS. PETER AND PAUL'S, BEAVER. 455 



STS. PETER AND PAUL S CHURCH, BEAVER. 

The town of Beaver, the seat of justice of the county of the 
same name, is situated on the west bank of the Beaver River, 
at its confluence with tlie Ohio, and occupies a plateau about 
100 feet above the level of the rivers. It is twenty -seven miles 
north-west of Pittsburg, and at the most northern point 
reached by the Ohio River in its course. It was laid out by 
David Leet in 1791, and occupies the spot formerly the site 
of Fort M'Intosh, a fort established for the defence of the 
frontier, and the scene of the last treat}^ with the Indians, 
whereby their claim to the soil of Pennsylvania was forever 
extinguished. It was incorporated March 29th, 1802. 

A few Catholic settlers found their way into the town and 
surrounding country in the early part of this century ; and in 
1830 the place became one of the regular missionary stations 
of Rev. Patrick O'Neil, of Sugar Creek. As the population 
gradually increased, a church became desirable. To second 
the efforts of the Catholics, whose resources were very limited, 
Mr. Jas. W. Hemphill, a Protestant gentleman of the town, 
donated a large lot of ground as the site of a new church. 
With this encouragement the Catholics commenced the build- 
ing of the church in 1834. It was not finished until 1837, 
when it was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick, under the invoca- 
tion of Sts. Peter tmd Paul. The building is frame, about 24 
by 40 feet, and simple in style and finish. Rev. J. O'Reilly, of 
Pittsburg, visited it at distant intervals ; and afterwards it be- 
came a regular monthly station, attended successively from 
the same place by Rev. E. F. Garland, A. P. Gibbs, J. Powers, 
and Thos. M'Cullagh. In 1847 Rev. Jas. Reid was appointed 
first resident pastor, with the additional charge of the entire 
Beaver valley. His first care was to give the church and its 
surroundings a thorough repairing, and make it a more fitting 
place for the offering up of the adorable Sacrifice. The in- 
crease of the congregation was almost imperceptible, and the 
church, though so small, has never been unable to accommo- 
date the people. About the year 1854 Lawrence County was 
detached from Fr. Reid's mission, and received a pastor of its 



456 DEATH OF REV. J AS. REID. 

own at New Castle. In his narrower sphere the good priest 
kept the even tenor of his way, till old age stole upon him 
and he was forced to seek repose. This took place in 1866,. 
from which time one of the Passionist fathers from Pittsburg 
visited the congregation on two Sundays in the month. Fr. 
Reid continued to reside at Beaver, where, full of years and 
merit, he expired February 14th, 1868, in the 75th year of his 
age. 

Rev. Jas. Reid was born at Carrickmacross, county Mona- 
ghan, Ireland, in the year 1793. Coming to this country in 
18 17, he taught school in Westmoreland County and in the 
academy at Butler, and in 1822 entered the seminary at Bards- 
town, Ky. Having finished his studies, he was ordained by 
Bishop Fen wick at Cincinnati on Easter Monday, 1832. Af- 
ter serving on the mission in various parts of Ohio, Virginia, 
and Maryland, he entered the Diocese of Pittsburg in 1846. 
Here he attended Pine Creek and Wexford, in the latter place 
finishing a church, and was in about a year transferred to the 
scene of the closing years of his life. His remains repose in 
the cemetery of the church he so long and faithfully served. 

After the death of Father Reid, the church at Beaver 
was attached to Rochester and has continued so with the ex- 
ception of about a year. It is probable that the two congre- 
gations will eventually be merged into one with a new church 
midway between the present two. Mass is now celebrated 
every Sunday, except the fifth of the month, in each church, 
but the congregation of Sts. Peter and Pa,ul is decreasing and 
will not number one hundred souls. For obvious reasons no 
parish school has been opened. 

ST. CECILIA'S CHURCH, ROCHESTER. 

The town of Rochester, w^hich was formerly known by 
the name of East Bridgewater, lies on the opposite side of the 
Beaver River from the town last noticed, and like it is built 
on a table-land. In 1870 it had a population of 2091. A small 
number of German Catholic families settled in the town and 
surroundings more than twenty years ago, and not finding it 
convenient to attend the English church at Beaver, a separate 



ST. CECILIA'S CHURCH, ROCHESTER. 457 

one was built for their accommodation by Rev. J. Stiebel, of 
Allegheny City, about the year 1857, but I have not been 
able to learn the date of its dedication. It is a frame building 
46 feet in length by 25 in width, and has a small belfry. The 
interior is neatly finished and has one altar. Upon the com- 
pletion of the church, Rev. Michael Miihlberger was appoint- 
ed pastor in 1858, but was succeeded the following year by 
Rev. J. Reiser. But the congregation was too small to sup- 
port a resident pastor, and before the end of the year it was 
attached to St. Mary's, Allegheny City, from which it was 
visited generally twice in the month for nine years. The 
death of Father Reid at this time left a vacancy, and the 
churches of Beaver and Rochester were united under one 
pastor, in which state they have, with little exception, since 
remained. Rev. Adam Gunkle now became pastor, but the 
following year the Passionist fathers attended Beaver, and 
Rev. J. Zwickert was pastor of St. Cecilia's. Next came Rev. 
Julius Kuenzer, after whose departure it was reunited to St. 
Mary's, Allegheny, till, in 1873, Rev. Joseph Boehm was ap- 
pointed pastor. He was succeeded November, 1875, by Rev. 
James Rommelfanger, and he in October, 1877, by Rev. J. 
Kaib, who gave place to the present pastor, Rev. Fred. Stefen, 
in November, 1878. 

The congregation has increased but little and its growth 
in the future will be no less tardy, unless the Pittsburg and 
Lake Erie Railroad, now opened, and which crosses the Ohio 
River at this place, induces manufacturers to locate there. St. 
Cecilia's was originally a German congregation, and at pres- 
ent that element predominates, but there is a sufficient num- 
ber of English to make it now a mixed congregation requiring 
a pastor conversant with both languages. 

The church at Glenfield, as we have seen, was for a time 
ministered to by the pastor of St. Cecilia's, but is not at pres- 
ent. But he attends that at Baden, next to be noticed, and 
besides this has since 1868 visited Industry, eight miles down 
the Ohio, and Smith's Ferry, four miles farther, both of which 
are villages with half a dozen or more families, for whom 
Mass is celebrated monthly on a week-day. There are no 
Catholics whatever in that portion of Beaver County lying 



458 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, BADEN. 

south of the Ohio River, except perhaps two or three families 
opposite Rochester. St. Ceciha's congregation will not count 
more than perhaps thirty families ; it has never had a parish 
school, nor does it ovv^n a pastoral residence. 

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, BADEN. 

This little church is situated six miles east of Rochester 
and two north of the Ohio River. It was built in 1871 by 
about a dozen farmers, who had formerly heard Mass at Ro- 
chester, and is a neat frame structure about 50 feet in length 
by 25 in width. The pastor of the church at Rochester has 
always had charge of the little congregation, for whom he 
offers up the Holy Sacrifice once a month on week-days and 
on every fifth Sunday of the month. The people are all 
farmers. It is not probable that the status of the congrega- 
tion will undergo any considerable change for many years to 
come. 

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NEW BRIGHTON. 

The town of New Brighton is situated on the eastern bank 
of the Beaver River, three miles from its mouth, and is twenty- 
nine miles north-west of Pittsburg. The Pittsburg, Fort Wayne 
and Chicago Railroad passes through it, and on the same 
tracks the Erie and Pittsburg Railroad. It has a limited 
manufacture of wool and iron, and had in 1870 a population of 
4037. The first Cathohcs of the town and vicinity heard Mass 
at Beaver, but in the fall of 1863 an old United Presbyterian 
church v»^as offered for sale and was purchased by the Cathohcs 
at a triflmg cost. It was a brick building, about 50 feet in 
length by 40 in width, situated on a large lot in the northern 
part of the town, and had been erected about thirty-five 
years before. The style of the building Avas rigidly simple ; 
Presbyterian in appearance as well as in the object of its 
erection. Having been interiorly renewed, it was dedicated 
by the Bishop, December 6th of the same year, under the 
invocation of St. Joseph. Rev. M. J. Mitchell was appointed 
first pastor to reside here and celebrate Mass alternately at 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, NEW BRIGHTON. , 459 

St. Joseph's and at St. Rose's, Cannelton. Having remained 
sixteen months, he was transferred to another field of useful- 
ness, and the church was visited once in the month by Rev. J. 
A. Shell, assistant at St. Mary's Allegheny, and afterwards by 
one of the Passionist fathers from Pittsburg. At length the 
present pastor, Rev. John C. Bigham was appointed, February 
ist, 1866. Soon after his arrival he purchased a neat brick 
residence a short distance from the church, which he has since 
occupied ; for prior to that time the pastor lodged in a hotel. 
He also bought five acres of ground on the hill at the back 
of the town for a cemetery. The interior of the church was 
decorated, and a frame hall was built near it for fairs, etc. 

But the old church was now too small to accommodate 
the increasing congregation, and was, besides, ready to fall 
from age and other causes. It became necessary to purchase 
property and erect a more commodious edifice notwithstand- 
ing the limited means at the pastor's disposal. A very eligible 
lot, 180 feet square, was purchased adjoining his residence, 
plans were procured, and the foundation of the church com- 
menced. The corner-stone was laid by the Bishop November 
1 2th, 1 87 1. Work proceeded but slowly on account of the 
limited resources and the depression of the times, and it was 
not until the fall of 1875 that the basement was finished. It 
was dedicated by the Bishop on the 17th of October. The 
church, when finished, will be 106 feet in length by 53 in 
width, after a modified Gothic style, with a tower in the 
centre in front. The basement, which is finished at pres- 
ent, and will for a number of years be used as a church, is 
II feet high in the clear, has three altars, and is otherwise 
finished in a suitable manner. More than half is beneath the 
surface of the lot, the ground being removed for a few feet 
on both sides and the embankments supported by walls. 

The old church and hall, together with a valuable circu- 
lating library, were burnt by an incendiary while a fair was 
being held, June 25th, 1876. 

The congregation, although not in so flourishing a con- 
dition as it was a few years ago, is yet as numerous, and 
consists of about one hundred families, some of whom are 
farmers residing in the vicinity of the town, while others. 



46o ST. JiOSE'S CHURCH, CANNELTON, 

and perhaps the greater part, are employed in the public 
works, especially the cutlery manufactories at Beaver Falls, 
on the opposite side of the river, one mile above. A large 
number of Chinese were also employed in these works for 
several years, but the time for which they had, contracted ex- 
pired early in the summer of 1877, and they all returned to 
California. 

The distance at which the greater part of the congrega- 
tion lives from the church and other causes have prevented 
the opening of a parish school. The future prospects of St. 
Joseph's are good, although its growth will not be rapid. 

Besides ministering to this congregation and to St. Rose's, 
Cannelton, Fr. Bigham also attended other stations at differ- 
ent places in the county, the principal of which were Industry 
and Smith's Ferry before they were attached, as we have 
seen, to Rochester. St. Rose's had always been, with little 
exception, attached to New Brighton from the time the latter 
became the residence of a priest until February, 1877, and 
the labors of Fr. Bigham in behalf of that church will next 
engage our attention. 

ST. rose's church, cannelton. 

This church is situated in a country place about eleven 
miles north-west of New Brighton, six south of the Pitts- 
burg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, and three east 
of the State line. Nearly all the land in that part of the 
county belongs to the Economites, a religious sect, founded 
by General Rapp, having all things in common. They are 
tolerant, however, of the religious views of others, as will ap- 
pear from the fact of their having donated an acre of ground 
to the Catholics as the site of a church. They own ex- 
tensive coal-mines in the vicinity of the church, and have 
constructed the Darlington and Cannelton Railroad from 
the mines to the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail- 
road. The time of the first settlement of Catholics in this 
part of the county is uncertain, nor is it known whether 
Mass was celebrated for them prior to the time at which the 
building of the church was undertaken. Their number was 



ST. ROSE'S CHURCH. 



461 



thought sufficient to justify the building of a church in 1861, 
and Fr. Reid, who then visited them, erected a miniature edi- 
fice no more than about 20 by 30 feet in the cheapest and sim- 
plest style, which he placed under the invocation of the Rose 
of America. He continued to visit it until the beginning of 
1863. It was then attended once in the month for a year 
from New Castle. From that time it was attached to New 
Brighton, and visited on every alternate Sunday. In time 
the congregation increased and became too large for the 
church, so that in May, 1871, Fr. Bigham commenced the 
erection of a new building. It was finished in the fall of the 
same year, and dedicated by the Bishop on the 21st of Oc- 
tober. The church is 57 feet in length by 25 in width, but 
without a steeple. The ceiling of the interior follows the in- 
clination of the roof, and the whole is neatly finished with one 
altar, frescoed walls, and stained-glass windows. A school 
was opened in the old church in September, 1873, but the 
panic set in, and it was soon after discontinued. In the same 
year a frame pastoral residence was built. Immediately be- 
fore the panic the congregation was in the zenith of its pros- 
perity, and numbered about one hundred families. But the 
panic reduced the demand for coal, so that work in the mines 
was almost suspended and many of the miners were obliged 
to go elsewhere. Work has been but partially resumed. In 
February, 1877, St. Rose's Church was cut off from New 
Brighton, and with St. Teresa's, taken from New Castle, now 
form a separate mission, with the pastor residing at the for- 
mer. Rev. Peter M'Mahon was appointed pastor, but was 
succeeded in May by Rev. S. P. Herman, and he in the early 
part of the winter by the present pastor, Rev. Thos. Devlin. 
The congregation at present contains about sixty families, a 
part of whom are farmers scattered about the county to a 
considerable distance from the church, and it is not probable 
it will further decrease, nor will it increase except slowly. 

The pastor also attends two stations on the Pittsburg, 
Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad once a month on a week- 
day. New Galilee and Palestine, the latter of which is in the 
State of Ohio and Diocese of Cleveland. But the number of 
families is very small in both places, and neither has a church. 



462 ST. MARY'S, BEAVER FALLS. 



ST. MARY S GERMAN CHURCH, BEAVER FALLS. 

The few German families who located themselves at 
Beaver Falls a few years ago, and who were obliged to con- 
tent themselves with the English services at St. Joseph's 
Church, New Brighton, or travel to Rochester, determined 
to build a church for themselves. By an independent move- 
ment they purchased a site, and erected a frame church 60 
feet in length by 36 in width, which they furnished very neatly 
in the interior, and which the Bishop dedicated, under the invo- 
cation of the Blessed Virgin, July 4th, 1872. But their labors 
were in a measure in vain, for the church was without a pas- 
tor for about two years. The Bishop then gave it in charge 
of the Capuchin fathers, Pittsburg, by whom it is visited on 
one Sunday m the month. There are about twenty-five fami- 
lies in the congregation, and as the cutlery works of the town 
— in which they for the most part find employment — are doing 
but little, it is not probable that the congregation will increase 
in the future, except imperceptibly. There are also about 
half a dozen French families at Beaver Falls who attend St. 
Joseph's Church, New Brighton, and who are perhaps the 
largest body of that nationality to be found anywhere in the 
dioceses. Measures are now being taken to build extensive 
iron-works, which will no doubt have the effect of increasing 
the Catholic population. 

ST. JAMES' CHURCH, NEW BEDFORD. 

The village of New Bedford is situated in the extreme 
north-western part of Lawrence County and of the Diocese of 
Pittsburg, and within half a mile of the State line. A few 
families settled in that part of the county at an early 
day, and one of them, Mr. William Murrin, donated a 
farm of 247 acres of ground to Bishop O'Connor for the 
use of the orphans, as we shall have occasion to show 
when treating of St. Paul's Orphan Asylum. The people 
were visited from the year 1838, but it is uncertain whether a 
priest offered the Holy Sacrifice for them prior to that date 



ST. JAMES\ NEW BEDFORD. 463 

or not. These visits were at first made at irregular intervals, 
but afterwards regularly once in the month. Among those 
who shared in this missionary work were Revs. E. F. Gar- 
land, A. P. Gibbs, and Thos. M'Cullagh. The last-named, 
seeing the number of families slowly increase and become 
more thoroughly organized into a congregation, thought it 
expedient to build a church upon the farm, for as yet the 
people had heard Mass in a private house. With this object 
in view he opened a subscription, but before he had collected 
sufficient funds with which to commence work the mission 
passed, in 1847, i^^to the hands of Fr. Reid, of Beaver. He 
carried the plan of his predecessor into execution, and built, 
a short distance from the village, a frame church about 40 
feet in length by about 25 in width in the simplest style, which 
he placed under the invocation of St. James the Apostle. He 
continued to visit the congregation once in the month, and to 
minister to the rest of the Catholics in the whole Beaver 
valley till the year 1854, when Lawrence County was formed, 
as we have said, into a separate mission with the pastor resid- 
ing at New Castle. From this time forward St. James' con- 
tinued to be visited generally once — though sometimes twice 
— in the month until it was finally relinquished, as we shall 
presently see. 

In 1849 or 1850 an attempt was made by the Franciscan 
Brothers from Loretto to open a male orphan asylum on the 
farm in accordance with the stipulations of the donor. An 
additional building was erected and the larger orphan boys 
transferred thither, but the distance from the city, the difficulty 
of access, and other causes induced the Bishop to regard the 
work as impracticable, and the farm with its buildings was 
sold to the Bishop of Cleveland in 185 1 for $3000. But the 
use of the church was permitted the people for some time ; 
nor does it seem that the chaplain of the community that took 
possession of the farm ministered to the people until recently. 
The Sisters of Charity from Cleveland first occupied the farm 
and opened an orphan asylum, having for their chaplain Rev, 
Fr. O'Callaghan, and after him Rev. Fr. Pugh. But they 
were succeeded in 1854 by the present community, the Sisters 
of the Humility of Mary, with their founder, Rev. J. J. Begel, 



464 iV^fF CASTLE. 

as chaplain. The community numbers at present thirty-two 
Sisters and thirty novices, and they have an asylum with 
about fifty orphans. The object of the institute is the care of 
orphans and the sick, and the instruction of the children of the 
poor. They teach school at different places in the dioceses of 
Cleveland and Erie. 

The erection of churches at New Castle and at Youngs- 
town, Ohio, drew away many of the families that originally 
belonged to St. James', and the few that remain live at a con- 
siderable distance from the church. The difficulty of access 
to the place and the absence of minerals and manufactories 
make it improbable that it will ever have a considerable 
Catholic population. Mass has not been celebrated in the 
church since about the year 1873; for when the Sister sen- 
larged their house they built a chapel in which the few 
families — perhaps not a dozen in all — hear Mass. The church 
was moved to a spot nearer the house about a year or two 
later, and is now used as a school for the orphans. 

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, NEW CASTLE. 

New Castle, the county-seat of Lawrence County, is situ- 
ated on the Shenango River, "^ at its junction with Neshannock 
Creek, and is on the line of the Erie and Pittsburg Railroad, 
50 miles north-west of the latter city. The town was laid 
out about the year 1800, but owes its importance to the con- 
struction of the Beaver Canal, which traverses the valley, and 
which was opened in 1832. The town was at first confined 
to the delta between the two streams, but is now spread far 
over the gently rising hills on both sides of the Shenango. 
The present population is estimated at 11,000. For the size 
of the place it has very extensive manufactories of iron and 
glass, and to these is due its recent rapid growth. A creature 
of the iron trade, its fortune changes with it, and the same 
may be said of the Catholic population. 

A small number of Catholics settled on farms in the vicin- 

* The principal stream of the Beaver valley bears this name till its junction 
with Little Beaver Creek, when it takes the name of Beaver River till it flows 
into the Ohio, 16 miles below. 



ST. MARY'S CHURCH. 465 

ity of New Castle at an early date in its history ; but although 
Mass was undoubtedly offered up for them in a private room 
as often as their necessities, or rather the time at the disposal 
of the missionary priests of the district, made it practicable, 
we have no reHable record of it. This much, however, is 
known, that priests from Pittsburg ministered to the few scat- 
tered families along the canal at such points as was necessar}/. 
When Fr. Reid first said Mass at New Castle, August, 185 1, 
there are said to have been no more than ten or fifteen fami- 
lies of farmers and a small number of others. In 1852 he 
built a frame church, about 40 feet in length by 20 in width, 
on the side of the river to the west of the town in the most 
unlikely spot imaginable, and dedicated it to the Blessed Vir- 
gin. He was then succeeded by Rev. Peter M. Garvey, who 
became the first resident pastor, offering up the Holy Sacri- 
fice alternately at that place and New Bedford. The constant 
residence of a pastor from that time would seem to argue a 
considerable increase in the Catholic population. But there 
was a strong Presbyterian element of a very illiberal school 
in the town and county, and the Catholics were, and still are, 
looked upon as a generation that fears the light. In June, 
1855, Fr. Garvey was succeeded by Rev. Thos. O'Farrell, who 
ministered to the congregation and missions until August, 
1859, when he gave place to Rev. John C. Farren, Upon his 
withdrawing in May, 1862, the congregation was visited 
monthly for a year by Rev. Thos. Walsh, of Brady's Bend, 
Armstrong County. Rev. Jas. Canivan then became pastor ; 
and during his residence the iron trade of the town began to 
assume its present proportions, and to draw thither a large 
number of Catholics, principally Irish, who sought employ- 
ment. The church was now no longer capable of accommo- 
dating them, nor could it be sufficiently enlarged. Desiring a 
more suitable locality, Fr. Canivan purchased a large lot in 
the older part of the town, corner of Beaver and North 
streets, and soon after commenced to build the church. The 
corner-stone was laid by the Bishop July 4th, 1866, but the 
church was not finished for five years. March loth, 1871, Fr. 
Canivan was succeeded by Rev. W. F. Hayes. The congre- 
gation was now large and increasing rapidly. In April, after 



466 ST. MARY'S, NEW CASTLE. 

his arrival, Fr. Hayes opened a school in a rented room, un- 
der the direction of a lay teacher, and in May purchased a 
large frame dwelling across the street from the church for a 
pastoral residence ; for previous to that time the pastor had 
occupied a rented house. The church was finished the same 
year, and dedicated by the Bishop September 17th. It is 
built of brick, is no feet in length by 45 in width, has a well- 
proportioned tower in the centre in front, and follows the 
Gothic style of architecture with some modifications in the 
plan of its construction. There are no columns in the inte- 
rior, but the ceiling is groined over the windows and rises 
moderately from the side walls toward the centre, at which 
point it reaches the height of 33 feet from the floor. There 
are three altars, a large gallery, and stained-glass windows. 
But the lot is low and the church is damp. 

Soon after the completion of the church the congregation 
was in the zenith of its prosperity, and contained perhaps 
four hundred families, besides many single men employed in 
the manufactories. There was also at this time a considera- 
ble number of Germans. An assistant to the pastor became 
necessary, and one was first appointed in February, 1873. But 
the panic of the same year bore heavily on New Castle, and 
the iron-works, after struggling against it for a time, either 
entirely suspended or greatly reduced the number of the 
hands employed. This was especially trying for the congre- 
gation, which bad purchased sixty acres of land about a mile 
from the town in May of that year, part of which was to be 
used as a cemetery, and the balance to be disposed of in lots 
to members of the congregation according to an agreement 
the conditions of which they were now unable to fulfil. A 
new and larger school-house was also needed, and after some 
necessary delay it was built in 1876. It is one of the most 
substantial and best arranged school-houses in the diocese, and 
is 60 feet in length by 35 in width, and three stories high. 
The first and second floors are each divided into two rooms, 
while the third is a hall with stage for exhibitions, fairs, etc. 
The schools were placed under the care of the Sisters of St. 
Joseph, from Ebensburg, in September, 1875. As yet a con- 
vent has not been built for their accommodation. 



ST. FRANCIS', STONERSTOWN. 467 

In February, 1877, St. Teresa's Church, CHnton, which 
had to that time been under the care of the pastor of New 
Castle, was detached to form part of a new parish, and with 
it the assistant withdrew from St. Mary's. 

The congregation is now greatly reduced in numbers, and 
will not count more perhaps than one hundred and fifty fami- 
lies, with many single persons. But this is only temporary. 
With the revival of the iron trade New Castle will be itself 
again, and St. Mary's will enjoy its wonted prosperity. Fr. 
Hayes was succeeded February 8th, 1879, t)y the present pas- 
tor, Rev. Jos. Gallagher. 

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER'S CHURCH, STONERSTOWN. 

The little village of Stonerstown is situated on Slippery 
Rock Creek, about twelve miles east of New Castle. The 
scenery along the creek, especially at the mouth of Muddy 
Creek immediately above, is very romantic and beautiful. 
Tradition also points to this as the spot where the Indian 
tribes for a great distance round were accustomed to hold 
their annual council. A blast-furnace was built here many 
years ago, which was replaced by another more recently, and 
since the latter date a few CathoHc famihes settled in the vil- 
lage and around it. But Mass is not known to have been 
celebrated there until after the appointment of Fr. Hayes to 
New Castle. For a few years he offered up the Holy Sacri- 
fice monthly on a week-day in a private room, but in the 
summer of 1875 he built a frame church 47 feet in length by 
22 in width, with a steeple. It is dedicated to the Apostle of 
the Indies, and is one of the most chaste and beautiful little 
churches in the diocese. A priest from New Castle visited it 
on one Sunday in the month until the furnace blew out about 
a year later, when all the Catholics, with the exception of 
half a dozen families, moved elsewhere. It is now visited 
once in the month on a week-day. Little change is likely to 
take place in the miniature congregation for many years to 
come. 



468 >..- ST. TERESA 'S CHURCH, CLINTON. 



ST. TERESA'S CHURCH, CLINTON. 

Homewood Furnace, about thirteen miles down the river 
from New Castle, employed in its day a number of Catholic 
laborers, and was for many years while it was in blast at- 
tended at regular intervals ; but these visits ceased after the 
erection of the church at Clinton. This church is situated at 
Clinton station, on the Erie and Pittsburg Railroad, twelve 
miles below New Castle. 

There is neither town nor village, and the congregation is 
composed principally of miners, although there are a few 
farmers and railroad men. From the beginning it was at- 
tached to the New Castle mission, from which it was visited 
monthly for four or five years prior to the erection of the 
church. When the congregation had so far increased as no 
longer to find accommodations in a room, the church was 
undertaken in May, 1871, and the excavations were dug and 
foundations laid by the people under the guidance of 
Fr. Hayes, then pastor of New Castle. The building was 
completed the same year, and was dedicated by the Bishop 
October 15th, under the invocation of St. Teresa. It is an 
elegant frame building, 66 feet in length by 33 in width, and 
surmounted by a chaste steeple. After its completion it was 
attended twice in the month on Sundays. But the congrega- 
tion was increasing rapidly, and the church immediately after 
its completion was no longer able to accommodate it. An 
addition was then built to the rear, consisting of an apse for 
the altar with a sacristy on each side ; the interior was fres- 
coed, and it was reopened by the Bishop November i6th, 
1873. The congregation consisted at this time of about sixty 
families, besides a large number of unmarried men employed 
in the mines. But with the well-known financial crisis came 
an almost total suspension of work, and the congregation 
declined rapidly. At present it will not exceed thirty 
families, who are for the most part farmers residing in the 
vicinity. 

In February, 1877, the church was detached from the New 
Castle mission and with St. Rose's formed into a separate 



ST. TERESA'S CHURCH. 469 

pastorate, as has already been remarked. The fortunes of St. 
Teresa's are bound up with the coal-mines which called it 
into existence, and these depend in a great measure on the 
iron trade. This last is reviving slowly from its recent pros- 
tration, but it does not appear at all probable that this con- 
gregation will attain its former prosperity for many years to 
come. It is still visited on two Sundays in the month, but 
for obvious reasons it has never enjoyed the advantages of a 
parochial school. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF MEN — COLLEGES. 

Remarks — St. Michael's Seminary — The Brothers of the Presentation — St. Vin- 
cent's Abbey and College — The Franciscan Brothers — St. Francis' College — 
The Congregation of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart of Mary — 
The Pittsburg Catholic College — Other religious orders — The Passionists — 
The Oblates of St. Charles Borromeo— Death and sketch of Rev. P. M'C. 
Morgan. 

From the fact that the members of several of the religious 
orders now established in the diocese are engaged in teaching, 
and from the impossibility of treating of their colleges without 
at the same time entering more or less into the history of the 
orders themselves, it has been thought best to give in the 
present chapter a combined sketch of both. The first place 
has for obvious reasons been given to the diocesan seminary. 

ST. MICHAEL'S THEOLOGICAL AND PREPARATORY SEMINARY. 

Conscious of the advantages of having the candidates for 
the sacred ministry trained under his immediate supervision, 
one of the first objects that attracted the attention of the 
newly consecrated Bishop O'Connor Avas the opening of an 
ecclesiastical seminary. Humble in its beginning, it was yet 
destined to be productive of incalculable benefit to the dio- 
cese. Early in the year 1844 he assembled a small number of 
students at his residence on Smithfield Street, not far from 
the Cathedral, under the presidency of Rev. R. A. Wilson, 
D.D. As this was only meant to be temporary, he resolved 
to build a seminary on the Cathedral lot. But this idea was 
abandoned, and the students remained with him ; and when 
his new residence was built by the side of the Cathedral they 
followed him to it. Here they remained for a short time. 
Soon after his arrival in Pittsburg, Bishop O'Connor pur- 



ST, MICHAEL'S SEMINARY. 



471 



chased a farm of about one hundred acres from the Econo- 
mies for $16,000. It Ues on the side and top of the hill to the 
south of the Monongahela River in what was then Birmingham 
borough, but which is now a part of Pittsburg. The invest- 
ment was a profitable one ; for after building lots, to the amount 
of about $100,000, had been sold, and after other large lots had 
been donated to the orphan asylum, the Passionist monastery, 
and St. Michael's Church, the remainder was valued by 
the city at $162,000 before the panic. Parts of it were sold 
for as much as $6000 an acre. A frame dwelling stood on it 
at the foot of the hill, near St. Michael's Church, and this 
the Bishop transformed into a seminary at the close of 1846 
or early in the following year. Rev. Thomas M'Cullagh was 
appointed president. But failing health soon obhged him to 
relinquish the arduous duties connected with it and the mis- 
sions, which, owing to the scarcity of priests, he was also 
obliged to visit, and to seek repose for a time. He according- 
ly withdrew to St. Xavier's Academy, and the seminary was 
placed in the hands of the fathers of the Congregation of the 
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in November, 1848. But they 
did not succeed in laying a permanent foundation in the dio- 
cese. On the event of their withdrawal, in the course of 
the following year. Rev. James O'Connor was appointed 
president. Little change took place beyond a gradual in- 
crease in the number of students, until the summer of 185 1, 
when the cholera broke out with great violence in the city, 
and it was deemed advisable to close the seminary. The 
students were transferred to other institutions, and the semi- 
nary became soon after a boys' orphan asylum. 

The Cathedral had been burnt down in the previous May, 
and the present imposing structure undertaken, which, owing 
to the limited resources of the diocese, made it expedient to 
curtail expenses as much as possible, and not open the semi- 
nary for a few years. In the mean time the diocese was di- 
vided and the new See of Erie erected. 

At length, after no little speculation as to the most suitable 
place for reopening it, the seminary was located at Summit- 
ville, Cambria County, in September, 1856, under the presi- 
dency of Rev. C. M. Sheehan. Here it remained for a year. 



472 



ST. MICHAEL'S SEMINARY. 



But the site was not a happy selection. The buildings were 
very indifferent ; the place, being on the summit of the moun- 
tains, was extremely cold in winter ; and the distance from 
Pittsburg, 102 miles, added to its other inconveniences. To 
secure a more fitting place a lot of ground consisting of about 
eight acres, with a large frame summer hotel standing on it, 
and lying at Glenwood, on the east bank of the Monongahela 
River five miles from its mouth, but at present within the 
city limits, was purchased April 8th, 1857, for $6600. Here the 
seminary was opened in the beginning of September of the 
same year, and Rev. James O'Connor was soon after appoint- 
ed president. Besides the preparatory and theological de- 
partments, there was also a separate department for lay stu- 
dents until the summer of 1863, when it was discontinued. 
The building soon became inadequate to the accommodation 
of the number of students required to meet the demands of 
the diocese, and an additional wing was built in the summer 
of 1862. 

At the end of October, 1863, Father O'Connor was suc- 
ceeded in the presidency by Rev. James Keogh, D.D., who 
had long been vice-president ; and Father O'Connor soon af- 
ter withdrew to the Diocese of Philadelphia. Ill-health pre- 
vented Dr. Keogh from discharging the duties of his office 
during a considerable part of his administration, and he re- 
signed at the close of June, 1865, and made his home also for 
several years in Philadelphia. Rev. S. Wall was appointed 
to the vacant post October 23d of the same year, a position 
which he occupied until the seminary was finally closed. 

A pubhc chapel, as we have stated when speaking of St. 
Stephen's Church, was opened in the seminary when it was 
located at Glenwood, for the benefit of the Catholics living in 
the vicinity. It was not closed until after the erection of St. 
Stephen's Church. The largest number of students in the semi- 
nary at any time was about seventy-five, but that was more 
than the building was capable of accommodating properly. 

After the division of the diocese and the erection of the 
See of Allegheny, the Bishop of the latter withdrew his stu- 
dents and placed them in other institutions. The parent dio- 
cese, burdened as it was with debt and deprived of a large 



THE PRESENTATION BROTHERS. 473 

portion of its former revenue, was no longer able to maintain 
the seminary, and it was closed at the end of the year 1876. 
The pastor of St. Stephen's Church is now the sole occupant 
of the deserted buildmg. Such of the students as were ne- 
cessary to supply the wants of the diocese were transferred 
to other institutions and the remainder were dismissed. It is 
not probable that the seminary will be again opened for many 
years, owing to the financial straits of the diocese, and when 
it is opened it will not be in the old building, for it is now al- 
most ready to fall with age. 

THE BROTHERS OF THE PRESENTATION. 

Having provided teachers for the girls of the city^by the 
foundation of a house of the Sisters of Mercy, Bishop O'Con- 
nor sought out an order to take charge of the boys. When 
on his visit to Europe in 1845, he called at the city of Cork, 
Ireland, and applied to the mother-house of the Brothers of 
the Presentation for a foundation. His request was granted, 
and a small number accompanied him on his return to America. 
They took charge of the boys' school attached to the Cathe- 
dral, and lived in Birmingham, not far from St. Michael's 
Church. But the time did not appear to have arrived for the 
Brothers to locate themselves in this part of the country. 
One of them died, another returned to Ireland, and a third 
joined the Augustinian Order at Philadelphia and became a 
priest. At length, as if to show that Providence did not wish 
the foundation to be permanent, two of the three remaining 
Brothers, Paul Cary and Francis Ryan, were struck by light- 
ning, on the street, July 2d, 1848, as they were returning to 
their residence after teaching Sunday-school in the school- 
house attached to the Cathedral. Their death was most ex- 
traordinary. They had almost reached their home, when, as 
they hastened along, one on each side of Mr. H. S. Bowen, 
who carried an umbrella, it was struck by the lightning and 
both were instantly killed, while Mr. Bowen remained unhurt. 
Many years after he was ordained a priest, and he is now a 
professor at St. Francis' College, Loretto. But one professed 
Brother and two novices now remained, and they were not 



474 ^^^ FRANCISCAN BROTHERS. 

sufficient to continue the foundation. It was consequently 
abandoned, and no attempt has since been made to revive it. 



ST. VINCENT S BENEDICTINE ABBEY AND COLLEGE, 
WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

I have already treated at length of these institutions when 
sketching the church of the same name, to which the reader 
is referred. 

THE FRANCISCAN BROTHERS— ST. FRANCIS' COLLEGE, 
LORETTO. 

Catholic education was ever dear to the heart of Bishop 
O'Connor, and he spared no pains to place it within the reach 
of the children and youth of his diocese. The Sisters of 
Mercy, whom he had introduced in the beginning of his epis- 
copate, were meeting with the most encouraging success in 
training the girls, but the boys were not as yet so well pro- 
vided for. The Presentation Brothers, who were destined to 
flourish but for a brief period, had charge of a small portion 
only of the children, and although the Benedictine fathers 
were preparing to open a college, the Bishop felt that still 
more could be done. He accordingly resolved to introduce 
the Brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis. Applica- 
tion was made to the Archbishop of Tuam, Ireland, upon 
whose solicitation the communities of Clifton and Round- 
stone gave six members to the new diocese. They arrived at 
Pittsburg in 1847, ^i^d located themselves at Loretto, the spot 
made famous by the labors and sacrifices of Dr. Gallitzin. 
Part of the land left by the illustrious missionary was trans- 
ferred to them upon certain conditions, and they took posses- 
sion of some old buildings standing upon it until such time as 
more suitable ones could be erected. A monastery was com- 
menced in the following summer, the corner-stone of which 
was laid by the Bishop on the Feast of St. Joseph Calasanc- 
tius, August 27th. The Order flourished; numerous candi- 
dates sought admission, and the Brothers soon found them- 
selves enabled to extend the sphere of their usefulness. A 



ST. FRANCIS' COLLEGE, 



475 



house was established at Pittsburg in the fall of 1848, and on 
the 4th of October the Brothers took charge of the boys' 
school attached to the Cathedral after the withdrawal of the 
Presentation Brothers from the diocese. Later they also, for 
several years, taught the boys of St. Peter's, Allegheny. 

When the new buildings were completed at Loretto in 1850, 
an academy for boys was opened, which, four years later, was 
chartered by the Legislature and empowered to confer col- 
legiate honors and degrees. The college has since continued 
to hold an honorable place among our institutions of learning. 
The average number of students in attendance is a little less 
than one hundred. 

In 1849 or the following year a number of Brothers took 
possession of a farm at New Bedford, Lawrence County, and 
opened a male orphan asylum, as was elsewhere stated ; but 
it was abandoned at the end of about a year. In 1852 they 
opened a house at Cameron Bottom, an account of which 
was given in connection with the church at that place. 

But the great work of the Order, the erection of the new 
college buildings, was not undertaken until the year 1863. 
At that time the energetic Brother Lawrence commenced the 
work, and it occupied his attention for about eight years. 
They consist of a central building 75 feet front by 50 feet 
deep and four stories high, which is flanked by two wings 
each 50 feet front by 30 deep and three stories high. Against 
the north wing is the exhibition-hall, 40 feet front by 80 deep 
and four stories high ; while to the south wing is the chapel 
building, 40 feet front by 100 deep and four stories high. This 
gives a front of 255 feet, which, with the study-hall built some 
years before, and standing north of the college, w^th which it 
is connected, presents an imposing appearance. All the build- 
ings are brick and have finished attics. Although the entire 
college is finished in good style, the chapel is deserving of 
special mention. It is modelled after the Gothic style of 
architecture, and is finished in the interior in immaculate 
white, which, far from smoke and dust, will long retain its 
original lustre. The windows are filled with stained glass, 
and the httle marble altar is one of the most beautiful in thc; 
diocese. 



476 



FATHERS OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



Here it is that the priests of the diocese perform the exer- 
cises of the annual retreat. Previous to the year 1870 the 
retreats were held every second year, and continued for nine 
days, all the clergy being- required to perform the exercises. 
But at that time a system in many respects preferable was 
adopted, and is still followed. It is that of two annual re- 
treats of five days each, one half the clergy attending the first 
and the other half the second. By this arrangement all the 
clergy are enabled to reap the fruit of the exercises without 
depriving their congregations of Mass on a Sunday. 

Additional lands were purchased at different times, until 
the Brothers now own about six hundred acres at Loretto. 
The Order has not flourished recently as it did in former 
years, although new members are being received from time 
to time. Nor has the college met with the full measure of 
patronage expected. With accommodations for perhaps one 
hundred Brothers and two hundred students, the latter have 
never exceeded one hundred, and have generally fallen far 
below that number. It has suffered doubtless from being 
situated at a distance from the railroad. But if an institution 
of learning is to flourish in the competition found at the pres- 
ent time, pains must be taken to maintain a competent staff of 
professors. While the members who founded the college 
were ripe scholars, their successors, it is to be feared, fall 
somewhat below them. The future prospects of the college, 
though fair perhaps, are not flattering. 

In September, 1878, the Brothers established a house in 
Altoona, and have since taught the larger boys of St. John's 
congregation. The house at Pittsburg was discontinued in 
the summer of 1866. The Order numbers at present three 
houses, with about thirty-five professed Brothers and a few 
candidates. 

THE CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY GHOST AND THE 
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY. 

This religious congregation was founded by the venerable 
Paul Marie Lieberman at Amiens, in France, in 1844, and 
although of but recent date is fast spreading throughout the 



THE PITTSBURG CATHOLIC COLLEGE. 477 

world, the members being engaged principally in teaching 
and in the work of foreign missions. When Alsace passed 
under the rule of the German Emperor, a number of the 
fathers of the congregation came to this country under the 
guidance of Very Rev. Joseph Strub, as we stated in the his- 
tory of St. Mary's Church, Sharpsburg, and after some time 
entered the Diocese of Pittsburg, and estabhshed the first 
house of the Order in the United States at Sharpsburg, April 
23d, 1874. In October, 1876, St. Anne's Church, Miilvale, 
was also confided to the pastoral care of one of the fathers. 
In the following year Father Strub secured a very large tract 
of land from one of the railroad companies in Franklin 
County, Arkansas, with a view of establishing a Catholic 
colony ; and taking with him five priests and twenty Brothers, 
he founded a house of his congregation there. But the most 
important work of the Order for this diocese was the estab- 
lishment of the Pittsburg CathoHc College. 

THE PITTSBURG CATHOLIC COLLEGE. 

In the organization of his diocese Bishop O'Connor was 
not satisfied with merely placing within the reach of the chil- 
dren of both sexes the means of acquiring an elementary 
training ; he would also afford them facilities for securing a 
higher education. For this purpose he established a high- 
school for boys in Pittsburg in 1844, and named Rev. T. Mul- 
len principal. The school continued under his administration 
until the arrival of the Brothers of the Presentation, when it 
passed into their hands. It was discontinued for want of 
patronage about the year 1849. ^^ attempt appears to have 
been made to revive it until about 1864, when a similar school 
was opened. But neither was it destined to be permanent, 
and at the end of two or three years it was numbered with 
the things of the past. 

But although there were other colleges in the diocese, it 
seemed to be, and it was, a reproach that Pittsburg and Alle- 
gheny, with a Catholic population at that time numbering 
sixty thousand, should not possess a Catholic school for the 
higher education of boys. In 1873 ^ third attempt was 



478 OTHER RELIGIOUS ORDERS. 

made to found one. It took the name of the CathoKc Institute, 
and entered upon its career with fair promise of success. But 
the times were not favorable, and it was impossible for a 
priest to superintend the school and at the same time dis- 
charge the duties of pastor of a congregation. At the end 
of about three years it went the way of its predecessors. It 
had long been apparent to every one capable of forming an 
opinion in the matter that, while there was no lack of youth 
desiring an education, a college could only be successful in 
the hands of a religious community whose sole business it 
should be to promote the interests of the institution. 

At length, in the summer of 1878, the fathers of the Congre- 
gation of the Holy Ghost determined to open a day-college. 
It was an undertaking that would doubtless be attended with 
difficulties, not the least of which would come from a want of 
confidence in its ultimate success on the part of the public, 
owing to previous failures. Still the announcement was 
hailed with pleasure. Five fathers, three natives of Ireland 
and two of Germany — but all experienced professors — opened 
the Catholic College, as it was named, in rooms near the 
Cathedral, on the ist of October, Rev. W. Powers bemg presi- 
dent. Two more fathers have since been added to the staff 
of professors. The system of training was soon found to be 
such as far to surpass expectation, and the number of students 
increased until it exceeded a hundred before the end of the 
first year. The course embraces all the departments that a 
young man could wish either to fit him for business, for the 
learned professions, or for the study of theology ; while the 
many advantages arising from the lessening of expense to 
parents, the good effect of having the children always at 
home, and others, are such as to commend the college still 
more to public favor. It is probable that ere long permanent 
college buildings will be erected, as the success of the college 
is now placed beyond question. 

OTHER RELIGIOUS ORDERS. 

The Congregation of Our Most Holy Redeemer has al- 
ready been spoken of in the history of St. Philomena's Church, 



THE PASSION I ST FATHERS, 479 

Pittsburg ; and the Capuchin and CarmeHte orders have been 
noticed in the sketches respectively of St. Augustine's and 
Most Hol}^ Trinity, Pittsburg ; while the Brothers of Mary 
Immaculate were referred to in the history of St. Mary's 
Church, Allegheny. It remains to speak of the Passionists 
and the Oblates of St. Charles Borromeo. 



THE PASSIONIST FATHERS. 

The Discalced Clerks of the Most Holy Cross and Passion 
of Jesus Christ, or Passionists as they are more commonly 
called, were founded by Paul Danei, now St. Paul of the Cross, 
at Mount Argentaro, not far from Rome, in 1737. His object 
was to unite in one the spirit of the ascetic and the missionary 
orders, the contemplative and the active life, and form a con- 
gregation of missionary priests somewhat differing from any 
then existing in the Church. 

The first colony of the Passionist fathers to enter the New 
World came at the request of Bishop O'Connor, sailing No- 
vember 14th, 1852, and landing at Philadelphia on the 6th of 
December. There were three priests — Fathers Anthony, 
Stanislaus, and Domenec — and two lay brothers. They cele- 
brated the feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Seminary 
of St. Charles Borromeo, Philadelphia, and immediately after 
set out for Pittsburg, the term of their journey. They 
stopped for some time at the episcopal residence, where they 
devoted their leisure hours to the study of English. The 
Bishop donated certain lots, upon which the monastery now 
stands, and to which the fathers have since added by purchase ; 
and they commenced the erection of the first monastery, or 
retreat as their houses are usually called, in the New World. 
The monastery stands on the brow of Mount Oliver, south of 
the Monongahela River, and is of brick. The main building 
extends east and west, and is 120 feet long and three stories 
high. A wing 100 feet long and two stories high runs south 
from the western end of the main building. From the south- 
ern extremity of this wing runs the church or public chapel 
still farther to the west. But all were not built at the same 



48o THE PASSIONIST FATHERS. 

time. The first section was undertaken in the summer of 
1853, and the corner-stone was laid by Father M'Mahon, V.G., 
on the 7th of August. It was dedicated by Bishop O'Connor 
on the 4th of June in the following year. The building in- 
cluded a public chapel, but not the present one. 

Although the rule is one of the most austere in the Church, 
the good work the fathers were accomplishing soon made a 
favorable impression, and they began to receive applications 
for admission. Sunday, June 25th, 1854, witnessed the first 
accession to their number, and to Mr. Theodore Lobomiller 
— in religion Brother Bernard — belongs the honor and privi- 
lege of being the first to be invested with the habit of the 
Passionists in the New World. Members of the congregation 
also arrived at different times from Europe. So large had the 
community become that as early as 1855 the buildings were 
enlarged to their present proportions. 

Soon the present large public chapel was undertaken, the 
corner-stone of which was laid by Father M'Mahon July 25th, 
1858. It was dedicated by Bishop Young, of Erie, November 
1 3th in the following year. But it did not at that time pre- 
sent the appearance it does to-day. Many of its most attrac- 
tive features remained to be added before it should become 
one of the most beautiful chapels in the country. It is 75 feet 
in length by 45 in width, and is a fine specimen of Corinthian 
architecture, the only one in the diocese. The ceiling is 
supported by elegant fluted pillars. The building is 
lighted by small windows placed high in the walls, leaving 
space below for altars and confessionals. Of the former there 
are five — a high and two side altars, besides two others in 
chapels in the side-walls some distance back. All are finished 
in a high style of art and are in harmony with the rest of the 
interior, and all have been planned and built by the skill and 
labor of the industrious members of the community. The 
high altar particularly is one of the most splendid pieces of 
workmanship to be found anywhere in the country. A few 
years ago a beautiful altar-piece, representing St. Paul of the 
Cross ascending to heaven borne by angels, was executed in 
Rome at a cost of $400 in gold. 



THE OBLATE S OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO. 481 

The community, as has been remarked, has purchased ad- 
ditional lots occupying the front of the hill belo.w the monas- 
tery. The industry of the Brothers has converted this into a 
garden and vineyard, which add to the attractions of the place 
and make it more agreeable for the community and for those 
who, touched by divine grace, retire to this sacred retreat to 
devote a few days to the important affairs of salvation. 

But though the congregation laid its first foundation at 
Pittsburg, and though this monastery is still the mother- 
house and novitiate in the United States, it was not to be cir- 
cumscribed within the limits of a single diocese. At the 
urgent request of Bishop Timon, of Buffalo, the Monastery of 
the Seven Dolors of Mary was established at Dunkirk, N. Y., 
May 26th, 1 86 1. Two years later, August 9th, 1863, that of 
St. Michael the Archangel was founded at West Hoboken, 
N. J. The provincial usually resides there. On the 28th of 
April, 1867, St. Joseph's Monastery was established at Loudon 
Park, near Baltimore. The Monastery of Holy Cross, Mount 
Adams, Cincinnati, dates from May 28th, 1871, and that at 
Louisville, Ky., from November 14th, 1878. Thus we perceive 
that the mustard-seed has become a great tree, and in every 
place to which its branches have extended it has borne most 
abundant fruit. 



THE OBLATES OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO. 

Early in the year 1870 Rev. H. Denny and Rev. P. M'C. 
Morgan, with one or more lay brothers from England, sought 
to found a house of the Oblates of St. Charles Borromeo, 
which they had both recently joined in London. They 
selected East Liberty as the site of the foundation, and 
named the house Our Lady of Victories. But after it had 
been opened for about a year circumstances were found to be 
so unfavorable that it was reluctantly discontinued. The lay 
brothers returned to England; Father Denny entered the 
Society of Jesus, of which he is now a distinguished member ; 
and Father Morgan, whose health was seriously impaired by 
the ravages of consumption, soon after retired to the home of 
his parents in Pittsburg, where he terminated his life by an 



482 DEATH OF REV. P. M'C. MORGAN. 

edifying death on the morning of April 14th, 1872, in the 38th 
year of his age. 

Rev. Pollard M'Cormick Morgan was a native of 
Pittsburg, and the son of a prominent Presbyterian gentleman 
who is yet living. At a proper age he entered the Western 
Theological Seminary (Presbyterian), in Allegheny City, 
where he completed the course of studies that was to fit him 
for entering the ranks of the ministers of that sect. But 
Providence had different designs upon him. He crossed 
over to England, where he joined his friend Mr. Harmer 
Denny, like himself a student and member of the same sect. 
Both were converted. Returning to America, he determined 
to consecrate himself to the preaching of the true gospel, to 
the knowledge of which he had been brought by the mercy 
of God. He entered the diocesan seminary at Pittsburg, and 
having finished his course of theology, was ordained on the 
7th of February, 1863. He was now appointed pastor of 
Brownsville, and at the end of about a year was transferred 
to Loretto, to assist at the church founded by Dr. Gallitzin. 
We next find him at the seminary filling a professor's chair. 
At length he crossed over to England and entered the Congre- 
gation of the Oblates of St. Charles Borromeo. Returning to 
Pittsburg in the early part of 1868, he was appointed pastor 
of St. Andrew's Church, Allegheny, on the istof April, to re- 
main until such time as circumstances should favor the open- 
ing of a house of the congregation of which he was a member. 
It was at length opened, as we have seen, but discontinued. 

His funeral took place from the Cathedral ; his parents and 
relations, still attached to the errors of their sect, occupied the 
front pews, and his devoted friend Father Denny pronounced 
the funeral discourse. These circumstances, in connection 
with the solemn chants of the Office and Mass, made the cere- 
mony extremely touching and impressive. 

Father Morgan was considerably below the medium size, 
and of slender form. In manner he possessed the candor and 
simplicity so strongly enjoined upon His followers by our Di- 
vine Redeemer. But his zeal in the cause of relig-ion was far 
beyond his strength, and in death he could truly say, '' The 
zeal of thy house hath consumed me." 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF WOMEN — ACADEMIES. 

The nuns of St. Clare — St. Clare's Academy — The Sisters of Charity — The Sisters 
of Mercy — St. Xavier's Academy — St. Aloysius' Academy— The Sisters of St. 
Francis — The Sisters of St, Joseph — Mount Gallitzin Seminary — The Bene- 
dictine nuns — The Ursuline nuns — Other religious communities. 

THE NUNS OF ST. CLARE — ST. CLARE'S YOUNG LADIES* 
ACADEMY, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

In the year 1828 Sister Frances Van de Vogel, a nun of 
the Order of St. Clare, belonging to a wealthy Flemish family, 
arrived from Belgium accompanied by another nun of the 
same Order, and established a convent in Pittsburg. For a 
short time they occupied a house on the cliff overlooking the 
Allegheny River, but at length purchased sixty acres of land 
on the hill west of Allegheny Town, where they erected a 
large frame convent and academy. Rev. Charles B. M'Guire, 
pastor of St. Patrick's Church and their ecclesiastical superior, 
took a lively interest in the foundation and encouraged it by 
his influence and counsel. The spot where the convent, 
which is yet standing, was built was named Mount Alvernio, 
but has since been known as " Nunnery Hill." Rev. Vincent 
Raymacher, O.S.D., was the first chaplain, but he was soon 
succeeded by Rev. A. F. Van de Wejer, O.S.D., a Belgian, 
who remained until the convent was abandoned. When 
Bishop Kenrick visited it in company with Bishop Conwell, 
June 27th, 1830, the community had increased to fourteen 
members, and the academy, although not enjoying the degree 
of patronage expected, was still in a flourishing condition. 

This was the only house of the order in the United States 
at that time ; for although a foundation was made many years 
before at Georgetown, D. C, it had long since been aban- 



484 I^HE NUNS OF ST. CLARE. 

doned. Another house was established at Green Bay, Wis- 
consin, in 1830. The nuns continued in their quiet and un- 
obtrusive way to work out the ends of their institute, and lit- 
tle further is known of their history until the storm arose 
which resulted in their expulsion and the sale of their prop- 
erty. This untoward event, which was painted at the time in 
the darkest colors by sectarian bigotry, is simple in itself and 
easily explained, although even yet it is looked upon by some 
as a dark spot in our history. And since I am of necessity 
constrained to give a sketch of the community, I deem it best 
to enter into a circumstantial account of the whole affair and 
thereby set the matter at rest. I have been at great pains to 
collect and sift the accounts of the very few who remember it, 
and the statement will be found to coincide with the card 
which Bishop Kenrick found it necessary to publish. The 
circumstances are briefly these : A young lady, remarkable 
for the eccentricities of her piety, lived in Allegheny and by 
visiting the convent became known to the nuns. It is also 
probable that she asked to be admitted into the community, 
and was not accepted. She went at length to Wisconsin and 
taught school for some time near the convent of the Order in 
that State, and was finally admitted into the community. In 
time she was sent to the convent at Allegheny, but not having 
the requisite letters was not admitted. She stopped with a 
friend until she could write for letters and receive them. But 
these did not secure her reception, for Madam Van de Vogel 
was not aware that she had an ecclesiastical superior in this 
country after the death of Father JVTGuire. The consequence 
was that Bishop Rese, of Detroit, who held that office, inter- 
posed, and, after inflicting certain censures on two members 
of the community, ejected all the nuns from the convent, May 
17th, 1835, and sold the property. Madam Van de Vogel 
went to Rome, and the other members of the community, 
after remaining in a house in Allegheny for about two years, 
supporting themselves by needlework or living on the charity 
of their friends, either returned to Europe or attached them- 
selves to other religious communities. 

All manner of slanderous stories were circulated by the 
sectarian press and certain ministers of the sects, and so dam- 



THE SISTERS OF CHARITY. 485 

aging- were some of these to the character of Rev. J. O'Reilly, 
pastor of St. Paul's Church, that his friends had recourse to 
the civil courts for redress. They forced a certain minister 
to pubhsh a card retracting his statements ; but this not prov- 
ing satisfactory, he was obliged to publish another more ex- 
plicit. Bishop Kenrick also published a card dated August 
1st, 1835, in which he states the cause of the closing of the 
convent substantially as given above, and vindicates the char- 
acter of Father O'Reilly from the aspersions thrown upon it.* 

Father O'Reilly himself published a denial of ten false 
statements contained in an article that appeared in TJie Con- 
ference Journal^ a sectarian publication of August 27th, dated 
the following day.f To these the physician of the institution, 
H. D. Sellers, M.D., a Protestant gentleman, added his state- 
ment in a card of August ist, in which he vindicates the charac- 
ters of all persons concerned, and denies the calumnies circu- 
lated against them. J; 

Thus ended the only attempt ever made to establish the 
Nuns of St. Clare in Western Pennsylvania. 

THE SISTERS OF CHARITY. 

We have seen that the Nuns of St. Clare closed their 
academy and retired from their convent in the middle of 
May, 1835. In the summer of the same year Father O'Reilly, 
then pastor of St. Paul's Church, applied to the Sisters of 
Charity at Emmittsburg, Md., for a colony of their institute to 
take charge of the day-schools attached to the church. Such 
was his success that a small number of Sisters were immedi- 
ately sent. He procured a house for them on Second Street 
(now Second Avenue), near Wood Street, where they re- 
mained for several years. They took charge of the schools, 
and also opened an academy for the more advanced pupils. 
When the orphan asylum was opened, in 1838, the care of 
the children was also confided to them. At the end of a few 
years — the date has not been ascertained — they procured a 

* Catholic Telegraph, August 28th, 1835. 

f Ibid., October 2d. 

X Ibid., September I8tb. 



486 THE SISTERS OF CHARITY. 

house on Webster Street, said by some to have been donated 
to them, where they took up their residence during the re- 
mainder of their sojourn in the city. 

At length Pittsburg was raised to the dignity of an epis- 
copal see, and Bishop O'Connor, on his return from Europe 
after his consecration in December, 1843, brought with him 
a foundation of the Sisters of Mercy, as we shall have occa- 
sion to remark hereafter, who immediately gained the as- 
cendency. About the close of the year 1845 their superiors 
recalled the Sisters of Charity, and they withdrew from the 
diocese. During the ten years of their sojourn they had 
effected great good, and had lived in the greatest poverty and 
privations. Such was the first appearance of these devoted 
ladies among us ; their second was destined to be under more 
favorable circumstances. 

Seeing the present growth and the future prospects of his 
congregation, and wishing to place within the reach of all 
the many blessings afforded by our holy religion, but espe- 
cially that of a thoroughly Catholic education, Very Rev. J. 
Tuigg, of Altoona, erected a large and elegant brick convent 
and school building, as we have elsewhere stated more fully, 
into which it was his intention to introduce a religious com- 
munity to take charge of the schools. After mature delibera- 
tion he applied to the superioress of the convent of the 
Sisters of Charity at Cedar Grove, near Cincinnati, for a 
foundation. His petition was favorably received, and on the 
nth of August, 1870, six Sisters left to found a house at 
Altoona. It may be remarked, in passing, that these Sisters 
JDclong to that branch of the community established by 
Mother Seton that did not affiliate with the Sisters of Charity 
in France, but preferred to retain the rule and habit in- 
herited from their illustrious foundress. They immediately 
took charge of the girls and the smaller boys of the parish, 
and also opened an academy for the more advanced girls. 

From the date of their arrival the Sisters, both as a com- 
munity and as teachers, have met with complete success. 
Many have sought and obtained admittance into their 
ranks, and their numbers have increased from six to sixty. 
Nor has the sphere of their usefulness been confined to one 



THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 487 

parish only. In January, 1873, they founded a house at 
Biairsville, and took charge of the school. Two years later 
another band of seven opened a convent at the Church of the 
Sacred Heart, Pittsburg, and took charge of the school. For 
the same purpose a colony of nine came to St. John's Church, 
Pittsburg, South Side, and added a fourth convent to those 
already established. Another house was opened at Johns- 
town in September, 1878, by ten Sisters, who teach the 
schools attached to St. John Gualbert's English and St. 
Joseph's German church. Still another was opened at St. 
Joseph's Church, Sharpsburg, in September, 1879. I^ addi- 
tion to these a number of Sisters go daily by cars from the 
convent at the Sacred Heart Church to teach the schools 
attached to St. John the Baptist's Church, of which they took 
charge in the fall of 1879. The extent of its ramifications and 
the entire satisfaction it has everywhere given show the wis- 
dom and foresight of Father Tuigg in introducing the Order, 
no less than the zeal and efficiency of the Sisters themselves. 
There is no other community in the diocese that has so flat- 
tering a prospect as the Sisters of Charity. 

THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 

Whatever may be said of the other religious orders of 
women in the diocese, and they all have a noble record, the 
Sisters of Mercy must ever occupy the foremost place, as 
well by their number, which is now almost two hundred, as 
by the numerous schools, academies, and charitable institu- 
tions entrusted to their care. For thirty-six years, in imita- 
tion of their divine Master, they have gone round doing 
good, instructing the ignorant, protecting those exposed to 
danger, reclaiming many from vice, caring for the sick and 
the orphan ; everywhere and by all proper means promoting 
the cause of religion. Nor have their labors been confined 
to one single diocese. From the foundation made at Chicago 
at the solicitation of Bishop Quarter, in September, 1846, to 
that at Wilkesbarre, thirty years later, the branches of the 
Order have been extending and have everywhere been bear- 
ing fruit for the honor and glory of God. Not content with 



488 THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 

the opportunities which ordinary circumstances placed within 
their reach, they have sought others. When the RebelKon 
desolated so large a portion of the country and filled the hos- 
pitals with sick and wounded, a band of Sisters from Pitts- 
burg had charge of a hospital in Washington for some months, 
where, like members of other orders, they did much to allevi- 
ate pain, to reconcile the suffering to their lot and make it a 
means of spiritual profit, to prepare the poor victims for 
death, and to remove no little of the prejudice which igno- 
rance and bigotry had caused and fostered against the Church 
and her religious orders. An interesting chapter of Ameri- 
can Church history would be that recounting the benefits 
which the Sisters of the various orders conferred thus indi- 
rectly upon religion during the late Rebellion. But to resum_e. 
At the date of the erection of the Diocese of Pittsburg 
there was but one religious order of women — the Sisters 
of Charity — in Western Pennsylvania, and these Sisters, not- 
withstanding their labors and sacrifices, were not meeting 
with the success to which they were entitled. On his return 
from Rome, where he had lately been consecrated Bishop of 
the new See, Dr. O'Connor passed through Ireland with a 
view of enlisting priests and religious for his Diocese. Among 
other places he visited the mother-house of the Sisters of 
Mercy in Dublin, from which, at his earnest request, seven 
Sisters accompanied him to America. They sailed on the 
1 2th of November, 1843, 3-nd arrived at Pittsburg on the 3d 
of December — the first Sisters of Mercy to cross the Atlantic 
Ocean. On their arrival they took possession of a house on 
Penn Street, near Sixth, where they remained until 1848. On 
the 14th of April, 1844, they took charge of the girls' depart- 
ment of the Cathedral school in the new building then fin- 
ished, and in September they opened St. Mary's Academy 
for young ladies. The other schools and academies which 
they conduct and the hospital and asylum of which they have 
charge, have been or will be treated under the heads of these 
congregations and institutions. The ranks of the community 
soon began to increase both by accessior^s for a short time 
from Ireland and by native aspirants to religious perfection. 
'^ In 1848 several of the Sisters having fallen victims to the 



ST. XAVIER'S ACADEMY. 489 

ship-fever, then so prevalent in the city, and serious fears 
being entertained for the safety of the rest of the community, 
Bishop O'Connor, regardless of his own comfort, gave up his 
own residence to the Sisters, whither they removed and re- 
mained until the present convent on Webster Avenue was 
finished, a period of over two years. The same house served 
for convent, orphan asylum, academy, and here, too, some 
classes of the parochial schools for girls were taught. In 1850 
the Sisters went to Webster Avenue." * This convent is at the 
corner of Chatham Street and not far from the Cathedral. It 
has been considerably enlarged, however, since that time. In 
1866 the Sisters took charge of the boys' department of the 
Cathedral schools, which is taught in the building attached to 
the Cathedral. A year later, upon the completion of the new 
orphan asylum and the transfer of the orphan girls to it, the 
Sisters took possession of the old asylum which stood at the 
back of the convent, and soon after, having torn down the 
building, replaced it by one much larger for the accommoda- 
tion of a part of the community. An elegant brick academy, 
fronting 58 feet on Chatham Street by 30 feet deep and three 
stories high, was finished in the spring of 1875. Thus were 
founded and finished all the buildings — and they are both neat 
and substantial — necessary for the community. The Order is 
in a flourishing condition and is constantly increasing in num- 
bers. We shall now turn to the educational institutions con- 
ducted by the Sisters ; their charitable institutions will find a 
place in the next chapter. 

ST. XAVIER'S academy, WESTMORELAND COUNTY. 

No sooner had the Sisters of Mercy established themselves 
in Pittsburg than they sought to extend the sphere of their 
usefulness. Encouraged and directed by Bishop O'Connor, 
who was always their steadfast friend, they resolved to estab- 
li.sh a house and open an academy for young ladies near St. 
Vincent's Church, Westmoreland County. Father Stillenger 



*Annual Report of the Treasurer and Rector of St. Paul's Cathedral, from July 
1st, 1873, to June 30th, 1874. 



490 



ST. XA VIER 'S ACADEMY. 



had transferred his residence to Blairsville a short time be- 
fore, and the Benedictine fathers had not yet arrived, and 
the large brick residence which the former had built in 1835 
being unoccupied, would serve as the temporary home for 
the community and the cradle of their institution. Soon, 
however, they secured a farm of one hundred acres of land 
lying about one and one half miles south of St. Vincent's and 
on the Philadelphia and Pittsburg turnpike. They have since 
purchased an additional hundred acres adjoining it. Here 
they prepared to establish their convent and academy. Few 
places could have been better chosen, as every one who has 
visited it in the last thirty years attests. The spot selected 
for the buildings rises gently above the adjacent grounds and 
affords a fine view of the surrounding country and of the 
well-defined Chestnut ridge that extends north and south 
about six miles east of the academy. Many a giant oak of 
the primeval forest is yet standing in the recreation grounds 
to carry the mind alike of light-hearted girl and thoughtful 
Sister back to the days, but a century distant, when the for- 
ests resounded with the howl of the Avolf and the panther 
and the war-whoop of the savage. It is a paradise, if there be 
such on earth. To this inviting spot the Sisters transferred 
their convent and school when the buildings were ready. May 
14th, 1847, and named it in honor of the Apostle of the Indies. 
The increased accommodations and facilities soon began to 
have their effect in establishing for the institution that reputa- 
tion for imparting a thorough education which it has since so 
successful^ maintained and enhanced. The building of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, which passes two miles north of the 
academy, placed it in direct communication with both the 
east and the west. As time went on the Sisters were enabled 
to improve the buildings and grounds and render them still 
more attractive. But in the midst of their prosperity and ap- 
parent security a calamity befell them which enlisted the 
sympathy not only of those who had been benefited by the 
academy, but of all who had heard of it. The building acci- 
dentally took fire on the ist of February, 1868, and was 
burned to the ground. 

Nothing remained but to replace it by a new building ; and 



ST. ALOYSIUS' ACADEMY, 



491 



in the mean time the school was continued, with such pupils 
as chose to remain, in the spacious brick guest-house that had 
been lately built. Work was immediately commenced on a 
new convent and academy that should occupy the site of the 
former. The friends of the Sisters hastened to their aid, and 
contributed liberally to the new building. It was ready for 
occupation at the commencement of the September term in 
1869. The chapel, however, was not finished until the spring 
of 1870, when it was dedicated by Father Hickey, V.G., on 
the 2ist of April. The new academy is considerably larger 
than the old one was, is finished in better style, and, being 
built in one block, is more symmetrical. Since its completion 
it yearly graduates young ladies from all parts of the country, 
who will carry with them through life the solid and healthful 
education they have received, and everywhere bear witness to 
the advantages offered by the institution. 

Although the Sisters, in common with others, feel the effects 
of the present financial depression of the country, in a falling 
off in the number of pupils received, it is but temporary, and 
the academy still enjoys a liberal share of public patronage. 

ST. ALOYSIUS' ACADEMY, LORETTO. 

It had long been the wish of Dr. Gallitzin, as we have al- 
ready remarked, to place the children of his Loretto settle- 
ment under the care of religious teachers ; but, although he 
made an attempt to establish a community for that purpose, it 
was left for others to carry his beneficent designs into execu- 
tion. In 1848 the Sisters of Mercy from Pittsburg founded a 
convent in the little Catholic village ; a house was built for 
their reception, and a small portion of the land left by Dr. 
Gallitzin was made over to them upon certain conditions, one 
of which was that they should teach the girls' department of 
the parish school. A young ladies' academy was also opened, 
which they placed very appropriately under the invocation of 
St. Aloysius. The buildings were enlarged at different times, 
though after a preconceived plan, till the Sisters now have an 
academy which without presents- a very attractive appearance, 
and within is well arranged for the purposes for which it is 



492 



THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS, 



intended. It occupies a commanding position, and is sur- 
rounded by grounds neatly laid out and set with evergreens. 
The number of pupils has never been so large as that of St. 
Xavier's, nor is the course of studies so advanced. While 
the latter is adapted to the wants of those who by their circum- 
stances are destined to move in the higher walks of life, the 
former is rather for the daughters of the middle class, those of 
limited means, who, while aiming to combine a useful with an 
accomplished education, give the preference to the former. 
Unfortunately, however, we find people of moderate means 
too often studying to ape the manners of persons of affluence, 
and the consequence is that the expense of their pretensions 
prevents them from ever attaining the reality. This is seen 
in many instances in the education of their daughters. Money 
is spent and time devoted to the acquiring of accomplishments, 
as they are called, which will be of no earthly use in after-life, 
and those who might by the same expenditure have acquired 
an education useful to themselves have little more at present 
than such as effectually unfits them for their station in life. 
It is hard to instil practical good sense into the minds of peo- 
ple in a land of shams like ours. And when educators would 
tell parents what is for the best, their advice is not acceptable. 
St. Aloysius' has not in the past few years received the 
share of patronage to which it is entitled, but this is to be at- 
tributed to the depression of the times, and with the return of 
general prosperity the institution will flourish as in former 
years. 

THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS. 

Three Sisters of this useful institute arrived from Buffalo, 
in November, 1865, and soon after opened St. Francis* 
Hospital on Fort3^-fourth Street, Pittsburg. When the orphan 
boys were transferred to the new asylum, in December, 1867, 
the Sisters purchased the house and grounds, on the South 
Side, the former of which became the mother-house of the 
Order in the diocese. A few years later they erected the 
present convent, which is a brick building perhaps 90 feet in 
length by 35 in width and three stories high, and placed it 
under the patronage of St. Joseph. In connection with it is 



THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. 493 

the orphan asylum, of which mention will be made in its 
proper place. There are at present about fifty Sisters of the 
Order in the diocese, besides a large number of novices. The 
schools taught by the Sisters have already been referred to. 

THE SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH — MOUNT GALLITZIN SEMINARY, 

EBENSBURG. 

The Sisters of St. Joseph were founded by Rev. Peter 
Medaille, at Puy, in France, in the year 1650. In 1836 a 
colony of six Sisters came to St. Louis, where they founded 
the first house of the Order in the United States. Twenty 
years later a house was established at Brooklyn, from which 
the foundation for the Diocese of Pittsburg was obtained by 
Rev. R. C. Christy, of Ebensburg, in the summer of 1869. 
Three Sisters arrived on the 2d of September, and opened a 
novitiate. They at the same time opened a boarding-school 
for small boys, which, in honor of the Apostle of the Alleghe- 
nies, they named '' Mount Gallitzin Seminary." The building 
which was procured for their reception has since been con- 
siderably enlarged. The community is in a flourishing condi- 
tion, although from its introduction into the diocese its mem- 
bers have had to struggle against many difficulties. The 
Sisters have houses at New Castle and Hollidaysburg in this 
diocese, as was stated in the history of the churches in those 
places, and at Columbus and Belaire in Ohio. The com- 
munity numbers about thirty-five members, all of whom, with 
the exception of the Mother Superior, have been received in 
this diocese. 



THE BENEDICTINE NUNS. 

In the history of the Church at Carrolltown, a brief sketch 
was given of the introduction of the Benedictine Nuns into 
the diocese. St. Scholastica's convent in that village was the 
mother-house until the spring of 1879. ^"t the difficulty of 
access to the place, the length and severity of the winter 
season, and other reasons induced the nuns to seek a more 
suitable locality. They accordingly purchased a large dwell- 
ing with a few acres of ground about eight miles south of Pitts- 



494 ^-^-^ URSULINE NUNS. 

burg, which is now the mother-house and novitiate. They 
have at present charge of all the German schools in Allegheny 
City. 

THE URSULINE CONVENT AND YOUNG LADIES' ACADEMY, 
PITTSBURG. 

We owe the presence of this Order among us to the dis- 
turbances created in France by the invasion of the German 
army in 1870. Eight of the French and English nuns in his 
diocese were authorized by the Cardinal Archbishop of 
Rouen to emigrate to the United States, and there seek the 
quiet and repose that it was no longer possible for them to 
enjoy in their native land. Upon their arrival in Pittsburg 
the same year they took possession of a house on Eighth 
Street, belonging to the diocese, where they remained until a 
more suitable home should be obtained. Leaving them for 
the present, we shall glance at the history of the Order. 

The Ursuline Nuns were founded by St. Angela of Brescia, 
in 1537, for the virtuous education of young ladies. The first 
convent of the Order in the Western Continent was founded 
at Quebec, in 1639 ; the first in the United States, that at New 
Orleans, in 1727. The latter exists to the present time, and is 
the oldest convent of women in the country. 

At the end of about a year the community of which I am 
now speaking purchased a very large brick dwelling on the 
chff overlooking the Allegheny River, at a cost of $35,000. 
Additions were built for a like sum, and an academy for 
young ladies opened. The superior education, especially in 
the French language, afforded by the institution induced many 
of our leading citizens, irrespective of religious belief, to place 
their daughters under the care of the nuns. It need hardly 
be said, that, notwithstanding the short time the academy has 
been in existence, it has fully realized the expectations of its 
numerous patrons. In addition to its other claims it has that 
of being favored by the government with a charter which 
empowers it to graduate such of its pupils as go successfully 
through a complete course of studies. The present building, 
though spacious, is unable to accommodate all who apply for 



OTHER COMMUNITIES. 495 

admission, and the nuns are looking forward to the time when 
they will have an academy where all the advantages of their 
system of education can be enjoyed by their pupils. With 
this end in view they purchased, in the summer of 1876, a 
property consisting of about thirteen acres of the most desira- 
ble ground at Oakland, which the owner, on account of his 
financial embarrassments, was obliged to sell at a sacrifice. It 
is within the city limits, and cost $35,000. The buildings, 
with the exception of a very large conservatory, are useless to 
the community ; but it is the intention of the nuns to erect an 
academy and convent as soon as their circumstances will 
permit. 

The community has had numerous acquisitions to its 
original number, and consists at present of about twenty-five 
professed nuns and a large number of novices, and it has every 
prospect of a flourishing career of usefulness. 

The School Sisters of Notre Dame have been spoken of in 
the history of St. Philomena's Church, Pittsburg ; the Sisters 
of St. Agnes, in St. Michael's Church, Hollidaysburg ; and the 
Sisters of Divine Providence, in Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, 
Pittsburg. Those principally engaged in managing charitable 
institutions will next engage our attention. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS — RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF WOMEN. 

The Mercy Hospital, Pittsburg — St. Francis' Hospital, Pittsburg — Asylum of the 
Little Sisters of the Poor, Allegheny — St. Paul's R. C. Orphan Asylum, Pitts- 
burg — St. Joseph's German Orphan Asylum, Allegheny — St. Michael's Ger- 
man Orphan Asylum, Pittsburg — House of the Good Shepherd, Allegheny — 
Conclusion. 

THE MERCY HOSPITAL, PITTSBURG. 

" The poor you have always with you" is a prophecy ap- 
plicable to the Church in all ages. But under certain cir- 
cumstances it comes home with peculiar force. Ours, for 
example, is a population where objects of charity are at all 
times numerous. But although these are the first to enlist 
our sympathy and kindle the flame of Christian charity, there 
are others in better circumstances who, in time of sickness, 
long to be served by persons who have consecrated them- 
selves by vow to works of mercy. Although Bishop O'Con- 
nor displayed the mind of a master in organizing the diocese 
over which he had been placed, yet he could not accomplish 
all things in a day ; hence it was not until the beginning of 
1847 that he saw the first Catholic hospital opened in Pitts- 
burg. In January of that year the Sisters of Mercy rented a 
house and opened the Mercy Hospital for the reception of 
patients. With the return of spring arrangements were made 
for building a permanent institution. Large lots were se- 
cured on Boyd's Hill, about half a mile from the Cathedral, 
and a short distance from the summit of the bluff overlooking 
the Monongahela River. Work was commenced in August, 
and the new hospital was ready for the reception of patients in 
April, 1848. The building is brick, and although narrow, is 
about 125 feet in length and four stories high. Since its comple- 



ST. FRANCIS' HOSPITAL, 



497 



tion it has been under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, and it is 
the property of that community. The devotion of the good 
Sisters to the care of the sick, their skill, and the admirable 
order that reigns in every department of the hospital have se- 
cured for it a name and a patronage that show the superiority 
of Christian charity over much-vaunted philanthropy. But 
the very charitable character of the institution has made its 
existence a constant struggle ; and this is perhaps the highest 
praise that could be bestowed upon it, that, not content with 
the good it is able to effect, it longs to extend its mercy yet 
further in behalf of suffering humanity. Not built with a view 
of making money nor under State patronage, the hospital has 
ever extended its charity to the poor as far as it was possible, 
trusting rather to the providence of God than to the rules of 
human prudence. Many pay, but not a few are received 
gratuitously. 

During the first eighteen or twenty years the hospital was 
in some sense regarded as a diocesan institution, and an 
annual collection was taken up in the churches towards its 
support, for which in return certain privileges were granted to 
the sick of the congregations. But of late years it has become 
a private institution. The spiritual necessities of the patients 
were ministered to for many years by one of the priests at- 
tached to the Cathedral, but for the last ten or more years 
the institution enjoyed the advantages of a resident chaplain. 
Rev. M. J. Mitchell filled that position until early in Decem- 
ber, 1879, when his health permitted him to take charge of a 
congregation, and the hospital was again made dependent 
upon the Cathedral. 

ST. FRANCIS* GERMAN HOSPITAL, PITTSBURG. 

In the month of November, 1865, three Sisters of St. Fran- 
cis from Buffalo, N. Y., entered the Diocese of Pittsburg and 
were added to the other religious communities devoted to 
the cause of education and charity among us. Soon after 
their arrival they purchased four acres of ground on what is 
now Forty-fourth Street, and opened a hospital in the frame 
building situated on the grounds. The little community in- 



498 -ST. FRANCIS' HOSPITAL. 

creased rapidly, and the mother-house was soon transferred 
to the South Side and permanently established at St. Joseph's, 
as we have seen. An attempt had once been made to pur- 
chase the property now occupied by the hospital as the site 
of the new St. Paul's Orphan Asylum, but the title was not 
then clear, and it was abandoned for the spot at present occu- 
pied by that institution. About half the original purchase 
was soon sold out in building lots, a transaction from which 
more was realized than the cost of the whole. 

A small frame chapel was built by the Sisters soon after 
their arrival. But the hospital was ere long too small to af- 
ford accommodation to all who sought admittance, and it was 
determined to build a large one. Work was commenced on 
it in the spring of 1872, and it was completed in the fall of the 
same year and blessed by the Bishop September 26th. This 
hospital is one of the most substantial and best arranged 
buildings of its kind in the city. It is 150 feet in length by 
40 in depth, four stories high, and has a wing extending back 
from the centre for a chapel. The interior arrangements are 
all that mechanical skill and Christian charity could devise 
for the relief and comfort of the inmates. The location, too, 
is superior to that of any other hospital in the city. The 
ground, which rises gradually from the river a distance of 
half a mile, places the institution so high that it enjoys a 'con- 
stant supply of fresh air, so desirable for invalids, and being in 
the northern part of the city it is free from the perennial 
cloud of smoke that hangs over Pittsburg. As if nothing 
should be wanting to enhance its attractions, the street in 
front of the hospital when opened was cut down from 10 to 
20 feet, leaving the building on an elevation. The grounds 
between the hospital and the street have since been tastefully 
terraced. To the rear are the grove-like grounds of St. 
Mary's, and beyond those of the Allegheny cemeteries, with 
a fine country prospect. On the whole it is one of the m.ost 
healthy and attractive locations that could have been selected. 
The old hospital is yet standing, and is used for patients af- 
flicted with the more malignant contagious diseases. Mass is 
daily celebrated by one of the Capuchin fathers from St. Au- 
gustine's Church. St. Francis', though commonly regarded 



THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR, 499 

as a German hospital, is yet patronized by ail classes of pa- 
tients irrespective of nationality 

THE ASYLUM OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR, 
ALLEGHENY CITY. 

The need of an asylum for the aged poor had long- been 
felt in our cities, not only that the corporal but much more 
the spiritual necessities of such as were thrown upon the 
public charity, or were in danger of being thrown upon it, 
might be properly ministered to at a time when they were on 
the eve of rendering an account of their lives. Moved at the 
sight of the destitution in which these unfortunate persons 
were placed, and conscious that but one effectual remedy ex- 
isted, the Bishop applied to the mother-house of the Little 
Sisters of the Poor at Rennes, in France, for a foundation of 
the institute for his diocese. But other Bishops had already 
made similar requests, and he must await his turn. At length 
his request was granted, and, on the 24th of April, 1872, he 
had the happiness of welcoming a colony of seven Sisters 
into the diocese. They were received into a house on Eighth 
Street, the property of the diocese, which had previously 
been occupied by the Ursuline nuns, until such time as they 
should be able to secure a permanent home. 

A brief sketch of this useful Order and the object to which 
it is devoted will no doubt be read with pleasure. It was at 
the little town of St. Servans, near St. Malo, in the north-west 
of France, that the foundation of the institute was laid. The 
parish priest of the town, the Abbe Le Pailleus, had long 
lamented the destitute condition of the aged poor, and had 
begged of God that He would raise up instruments for the 
amelioration of their condition. His prayers were heard, and 
God selected the pious priest himself for the good work. He 
felt interiorly moved first to select a poor girl of eighteen years, 
and later to associate with her another, an orphan of sixteen, 
to whom he gave a simple rule and whom he tried for two years 
before making known to them the work for which he was train- 
ing them. This done, he committed an old blind woman to 
their keeping, and soon a poor woman living in an attic received 



500 THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR. 

them into her humble home. Here the foundation of the 
Order was laid October 15th, 1840. From this lowly begin- 
ning it grew to its present proportions. At first the aged 
inmates were permitted to beg ; but the temptations to which 
they were sometimes exposed soon induced the Sisters to re- 
tain this humiliating occupation for themselves exclusively, 
and it has become one of their rules. In the beginning the 
house was called " The Good Women's Home," but at the 
end of four years the present familiar name was adopted. 
The Sisters follow the rules of St. Augustine, and add to 
the three customary vows that of hospitality. This requires 
them to give up their own beds if necessary, and to supply 
the aged with food before partaking of it themselves. It does 
not, however, mean, as some persons imagine, that the Sisters 
eat the fragments left from the old folks' table, but rather 
that if the supply of food is not sufficient for both, the Sisters 
and not the aged must fast. The " good Mother," as the 
superioress is called, told me with touching simplicity that 
Providence does not often demand this sacrifice at their 
hands. Think of that, you who discourse so eloquently of 
''philanthropy," "the cause of humanity," etc. Have you 
ever denied yourselves a meal or even a luxury for the sake 
of the poor ? But here we have strangers coming among us 
to minister to our poor, who labor without any remuneration 
but their coarse clothes and coarser food, and who are at 
times actually in want of the sustenance upon which their 
laborious lives depend. Enthusiasm may sometimes carry 
away one or two in a nation, but here we have under our 
eyes a sustained effort, the extent of which is almost incredi- 
ble. It is only in the Cathohc Church that true charity is 
found. 

The institute was approved by the Sovereign Pontiff July 
9th, 1854, and it numbers at present about three hundred 
houses in different parts of the world. The first house estab- 
lished in the United States was that at Brooklyn in 1868. 

The only conditions required of those who seek admission 
into the " homes" of the Sisters is that they should be at least 
sixty years of age and be willing to enter and remain. The 
poorest is as welcome as he who is able to pay his way. 



THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR. 



501 



To return to the Sisters among us. A suitable house was 
soon found on Washington Street, Allegheny, directly oppo- 
site the House of Industry of the Sisters of Mercy. It is a 
brick dwelling situated on a large lot 66 feet front by 300 feet 
deep, and which was purchased at a cost of $26,000. It was 
immediately fitted for their reception, and the Sisters moved 
into it with their charge Oct. 21st, 1872. Prior to that date 
two of the community had died. They had now eight aged 
persons in charge, but the number increased so rapidly that 
the new home was soon filled and additional accommodations 
were demanded. Strong in their trust in God, whom they 
were serving in the person of His poor, the Sisters in the 
summer of 1873 purchased the house and lot adjoining that 
which they occupied, at a cost of $28,000. The house is a 
brick dwelHng, and the lot is 84 feet in front by 300 in depth. 
This house became the men's asylum, while the other was 
occupied by the women and the community. But it was not 
long before both houses were crowded, for the Sisters refuse 
no one so long as it is possible to receive him. As to food, 
they trust to Him who feeds the sparrows. There are at 
present ninety-one aged persons in the two houses, and little 
does the world know of the sacrifices demanded from the 
Sisters in providing and caring for this peculiar charge. 
Their sacrifices are heroic, and are a living proof of the truth 
of the religion that is capable of inspiring and sustaining 
them. But it is not in the home only that sacrifices are de- 
manded ; in their rounds soliciting aid the Sisters frequently 
meet with trials, although as a rule our citizens receive 
them kindly and appreciate the benefit they are conferring on 
humanity. 

Such of the inmates as are able to work are not entertained 
in idleness. The women assist at the house work or sew for 
themselves, and the men keep the buildings and grounds in 
order. 

It is the intention of the Sisters to build a large asylum 
when they are out of debt, but that cannot be for many years 
to come. 

Mass is celebrated daily in the chapel by one of the Bene- 
dictine fathers from St. Mary's Church, by whom the other 



502 ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

spiritual necessities of the community and inmates are also 
ministered to. There are at present eleven Sisters in the 
community. 

ST. PAUL'S R. C. ORPHAN ASYLUM, PITTSBURG. 

In a city like Pittsburg, which contains so great a laboring 
population depending principally on two or three branches 
of industry, there must necessarily be a large number of poor, 
for no species of manufactory continues for a long time with- 
out temporary cessations. Unfortunately for them there is 
also a delusion in the minds of many of those who work be- 
fore the iron and glass furnaces that makes them imagine 
that the use of stimulants is necessary to sustain them in the 
heat to which they are exposed. Agriculture, too, has be- 
come so unpopular that our manufacturing centres are 
crowded with a class of persons who labor under the delu- 
sion that because they receive regular cash payments they 
must necessarily do well. Yet nothing is better demonstrated 
than the fact that high wages and regular cash payments fos- 
ter extravagant habits and reduce many of those to ultimate 
poverty who receive them, unless they and especially their 
wives are well trained in the school of domestic economy. 
Unhappily this is not always the case. Many live up to their 
means, and if their income increases their outlay will keep 
pace with it. If there is a cessation of the weekly or monthly 
pay, they are in a little time reduced to the verge of want. 
Along with this is an unaccountable predilection for small 
houses with but one, or at most two, diminutive rooms but 
poorly provided with the means of ventilation, and of the use 
of even these scanty means the occupants appear to have no 
idea. An unwholesome atmosphere is generated which ener- 
vates the system and excites or increases an appetite for 
stimulants. Reform is necessarily difficult and slow, and as 
the greater part of these persons are Catholics, they leave, 
should death carry them off, a heavy burden on the Church 
to take care of their children. Half-orphans, or such as have 
been deprived of one of their parents, are often in equally 
destitute circumstances, and children both of whose parents 



ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 503 

are living are not unfrequently more to be pitied than orphans 
properly so called. They sometimes learn from a sad expe- 
rience that " a man's enemies are those of his own household." 
I have had ample opportunities for collecting information re- 
garding the condition of the destitute children in our cities. 
There are doubtless many poor children who have been re- 
duced to that state without any fault of theirs or their parents, 
but if there were no others it would not be difficult to dispose 
of these. 

That an asylum should be of a reformatory as well as pro- 
tective character in a population like ours will be apparent to 
every one. But the successful imparting of such a character 
is one of the greatest difficulties to be met with in the man- 
agement of indigent and neglected children. Vices and evil 
habits are contracted at so early an age and are so thoroughl}^ 
rooted and grounded in the child by neglect and by the bad 
example of those who should have" been its guardians and 
guides in virtue as to become in a short time a second na- 
ture, and it will only be after long years of patient and pru- 
dent discipline that they will at length be eradicated. But 
instead of being eradicated they will often be found to be 
only slumbering, and will be easily roused into activity when 
circumstances are favorable to them. It is terrible to think 
of the part that parents sometimes play in misleading and 
ruining their own children. Another difficulty which those 
have to contend against who undertake the reformation of this 
class of children is that a large proportion of those who receive 
children out of the asylum ignore to a great extent the ob- 
ligation imposed on them of exercising care and vigilance 
over their moral and religious life. Under such circum- 
stances the child's training must be perfected in the asylum, 
or, if not, in many cases it will never be perfected. The ef- 
fect of past evil influence must be destroyed and the child 
must be armed against those of the future. For these reasons 
and for others of a less general character the proper manage- 
ment of the orphans and destitute children among us is a 
matter as difficult as it is necessary. 

Recognizing the importance and necessity of caring for 
the small number of these children already depending upon 



504 -ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

Catholic charity, Rev. John O'Reilly, then pastor of St. 
Paul's Church, took measures looking towards the opening 
of an asylum in 1838. On the 6th of July of that year he 
organized '^ St. Paul's Orphan Society," with himself as presi- 
dent, Joseph Armstrong vice-president, John Andoe treas- 
urer, and Luke Taaffe secretary, and with a board of twelve 
managers selected from among the leading Catholic laymen 
of the city. To prevent confusion with a Protestant organiza- 
tion of the same name, the title was afterwards amended to 
that of " St. Paul's Roman Catholic Orphan Society." This 
society has existed to the present time, and according to the 
terms of the charter the board of managers must be selected 
from its members by an election held June 29th every year. 
But the society has long since dwindled into insignificance 
for want of being properly worked up. 

A charter was obtained from the State Legislature April 
3d, 1840, legally constituting St. Paul's R. C. Orphan Asylum, 
and authorizing it to receive, care for, and dispose of " any or- 
phan child or children, and such other children as may be 
deprived of one parent." 

Father O'Reilly soon after purchased lots on the corner of 
Webster Avenue and Chatham Street, those upon which St. 
Mary's Convent of Mercy now stands, and having erected a 
building opened an orphan asylum, which he placed under the 
care of the Sisters of Charity. When these Sisters withdrew 
from the diocese, about the year 1845, the asylum passed into 
the hands of the Sisters of Mercy, who have since had charge 
of it. But the care of the larger boys soon began to present 
difficulties. A solution was sought, which was, as we shall 
see, by no means successful. A farm of 247 acres situated in 
the north-western part of Lawrence County, near the State 
line, had been bequeathed to the Diocese of Pittsburg by a Mr. 
W. Murrin, on the conditions that an orphan asylum should 
be built upon it, and that a resident chaplain should be 
stationed there. Thinking that it might be made a home for 
the larger orphan boys, who might aid in supporting them- 
selves by tilling the ground, a part of which was already 
cleared, a number of them were transferred to the farm and 
placed in charge of the Franciscan brothers about the year 



ST, PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 505 

1849. -^ brick asylum sufficient for their accommodation was 
also built, and the result of the experiment was anxiously 
awaited. But the distance from the city, the inconveniences 
of travel — for none of the railroads leading west from the city 
were then built — the expense of purchasing stock, utensils, 
etc., and sending the n out, the impossibility of persons desir- 
ing to adopt boys going so far to make a selection, and a few 
other drawbacks, proved the project to be impracticable. But 
the use that was afterwards made of this circumstance as an 
argument against building the new asylum in the country 
was, to say the least of it, more ingenious than convincing. 
The children were withdrawn after a short time, and it was 
next proposed by some to open an ecclesiastical seminary on 
the farm. But that was not permitted by the terms of the be- 
quest. There is so little disinterested charity in the world 
that bequests are sometimes so hedged in with conditions next 
to impossible as to make them a burden on the hands of those 
who receive them. In order to make the most of it the Bishop 
sold the farm to the Diocese of Cleveland for $3000, about the 
year 1 851, and it still remains under the jurisdiction of the 
Bishop of that diocese. (See St. James' Church, New Bed- 
ford.) 

The diocesan seminary in Birmingham had been closed, as 
we have seen, early in the summer of 185 1, and it was not the 
intention of the Bishop to open it again in that place. He ac- 
cordingly donated the frame building that had been used as a 
seminary, with 200 feet square of ground upon which it stood, 
to the board of managers, and the male orphan asylum was 
opened there in the latter part of 185 1. Soon after a brick 
building was erected to serve in part for the orphans and in 
part as a convent for the Sisters in charge of them. The 
number of orphans naturally increased with the growth of the 
Catholic population, and at the close of that year there were 
seventy female children at the asylum on Webster Avenue, 
and twenty-four boys at that in Birmingham. 

The proper training of the large boys was a matter that 
still puzzled both the Bishop and the managers, and another 
solution was attempted that was destined to be productive of 
as little practical result as that at New Bedford had been. In 



5o6 ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

February, 1861, a number of the larger boys were sent to the 
farm at Cameron Bottom, and placed under the care of the 
Franciscan brothers there. Here it was expected they should 
learn to work on a farm, and should in due time be indentured 
to the Catholic farmers in the surrounding country. For 
seven years there were from twenty to thirty boys with the 
brothers. But the experiment did not prove successful. Of 
those placed with the farmers in the vicinity, part have done 
well and part have not, while of those who left of their own 
choice the result is what might naturally be expected. I have 
said that one of the greatest difficulties to be met with in the 
management and disposal of orphans is to find persons to take 
them who will devote the proper care and attention to their 
religious training. But in justice to all it must be confessed 
that asylums, owing to defective management, are sometimes 
to be held accountable for a part in this unhappy state of 
affairs. But while the shortcomings of one may render the 
discharge of another's duty more arduous or difficult, it does 
not exculpate him for his own neglect. 

The younger male orphans remained at the asylum in 
Birmingham. But the building besides being old was no 
longer capable of accommodating the number of children for 
whom the diocese was now forced to provide. It was also 
desirable to remove the female orpnans from the asylum on 
Webster Avenue ; the house was now unsuited, and the Sisters 
wanted it to accommodate their growing community. It was 
therefore determined to build a new and magnificent institu- 
tion, which should be a monument to the charity and zeal of 
the Catholics of the diocese, and the energy and enterprise of 
the managers. The resolution was also adopted of bringing 
all the English orphans of the diocese into one building. 
After considerable debating on the relative eligibility of 
different localities it was finally settled to erect it on the spot 
it now occupies on Tannehill Street, a little more than half a 
mile from the Cathedral and not far from Trinity Church. A 
lot about 300 feet square, with a street laid out through it, 
which it* was believed would never be opened, was purchased at 
a cost of $9636.10, and work was commenced. In due time 
the foundations were read}' for the laying of the corner-stone. 



ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 507 

The ceremony was fixed for Sunday, June loth, 1866, and pre- 
parations were made upon a grand scale. The Bishop, the 
clergy of the city and vicinity, and Catholic societies with 
banners and brass bands without number moved from the 
Cathedral to the grounds in the afternoon, and after ap- 
propriate discourses had been delivered by the Bishop and 
others the corner-stone was laid with the ceremonies pre- 
scribed by the ritual. The building progressed slowly owing 
to its vast proportions, but by the exertions of Father Hickey 
and the board of managers it was ready for occupation at the 
end of a year and a half. The Sisters and the orphan of both 
the male and the female departments took possession of it in 
the middle of December, 1867. The old boys' asylum was 
sold to the Sisters of St. Francis who had lately entered the 
diocese, and the girls' asylum to the Sisters of Mercy. 

The lot upon which the new asylum stands is from ten to 
fifteen feet higher than the street it fronts on, and is support- 
ed by a massive stone wall of that height that runs the entire 
length. The building stands back about twenty feet, and is 
brick trimmed with cut stone. It is 200 feet in length by 
40 in width, and has, besides the basement, three full stories 
and an attic finished with mansard roof. A wing 90 feet in 
length by 35 in width extends back from the centre, the lower 
story of which is used for the kitchen and refectory and the 
upper for the chapel. The asylum was estimated to cost the 
sum of $160,000. But the proportions of the building will 
strike the reader as not being the best that could have been 
adopted. And when it is added that a corridor nine feet wide 
runs the entire length of the building on each floor, including 
basement and attic, that no room can be more than fifteen feet 
wide, while some are from fifty to seventy-five feet long, and 
that no two rooms communicate with each other except by 
the corridor, the mistaken plan of the institution will be yet 
more apparent. The boys occupy one end of the building 
and the girls the other, and in all the corridors, the refec- 
tory, and the playgrounds, partitions separate the one depart- 
ment entirely from the other. 

But however successfully a girls' asylum may be conduct- 
ed in a city, it is not the place for a boys' asylum, unless 



5o8 ST. PAUnS ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

some branch of useful industry be connected with it. As it 
is, the boys, even the largest, have no work, except such as 
properly falls to the lot of girls, and there is nothing to in- 
spire and foster that spirit of Christian manliness and self- 
reliance without which life can be neither successfully nor 
honorably passed by the poor. Besides, if boys, especially 
the larger ones, are to be trained to a really useful career, it 
must be under the guidance of persons of their own sex. 
Sisters may teach the branches that usually enter into the 
ordinary school course — and there are few teachers better 
than our Sisters — but beyond this is the formation of charac- 
ter, and that is in a great measure out of their reach. It 
is much to be regretted that the two departments of the 
asylum should ever have been united, but it is more to be 
regretted that the boys' asylum should have been located in 
the city. So long as it is there it must necessarily be a 
failure, so far as the larger boys are concerned, unless some 
branch of industry be connected with it, and this seems im- 
possible, at least at the present time. Had a small farm been 
purchased in some country place near the city, and the male 
asylum or industrial school been built upon it, the larger boys 
might have been properly prepared for the place they should 
hereafter fill in the world. And this could have been done 
under proper management with far less expense than has 
been incurred in the present asylum. Some of those who 
had the matter in hand were in favor of this, but the majority 
was against them, and objected that former attempts at a 
country asylum had not met with success. But while New 
Bedford and Cameron Bottom were at least sixty miles from 
the city, and it would require two days of exposure, fatigue, 
and expense to reach them, a place might have been secured 
without difficulty within less than an hour's ride of the city. 
It is now almost universally admitted by persons of experi- 
ence that the country is the proper place to train boys ; but 
wherever they are trained they must be taught to work. 
The action of many of the Bishops of this country confirms 
this view, and the success their experiments have met with 
proves the correctness of their theories, if anything so self- 
evident stood in need of confirmation. All the ends of a boy's 



ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM, 509 

asylum may be attained as well in the country as in the city, 
and some of them can be attained nowhere else but in the 
country. The religious and secular school training, being 
acquired in the institution, are independent of place. The 
health is built up more successfully in the country air. Boys 
have more ample opportunities of learning agriculture on a 
farm than on a small court paved with brick. Boys trained 
in a city asylum are of but little use to farmers, and hence it 
is that few farmers take them, and of those who do, but few 
are satisfied. Of what use is a boy to a farmer if he never 
saw a stalk of corn or a potato grow ? But this is not the 
most important point. To teach children how to work is re- 
garded by some persons as the leading duty of a protectory ; 
but it is not. Why is it that a farmer's or a tradesman's son 
begins to work at a proper age, and sometimes before it, and 
does not complain ? It is not, as some imagine, because he 
knows how, for the fact is he has yet to be taught, and his 
teaching is, after all, a small matter; but it is because the 
scenes in which he grew up were of such a character as to 
impress the great truth on his mind that labor is man's nor-' 
mal condition in this life. He knows that, as a matter of 
course, he must work when he is old enough. But train him 
in a city asylum in which there is no branch of useful in- 
dustry, and where his only work will be to sweep and scrub 
the floors and take care of the children younger than himself 
— girls' work — and you have taught him, on the one hand, to 
be ashamed of the only work he ever did, and on the other 
to take as little even of that as possible. Let the system of 
training be such as to impress on the mind of a boy from in- 
fancy that he is born to work, and he will readily learn to 
work. It was my good fortune to be born of very poor 
parents, and to be obliged to begin work when but seven 
years of age; and this was continued on a farm or in public 
works, with the exception of thret or four months of school- 
ing during a part of the winter, for fourteen years. Even the 
summer vacations during my course in the seminary were 
given to hard labor. Hence, having labored from so early a 
period in life, and having been thrown among laborers as one 
of themselves, I had ample opportunities of learning what 



5IO ST. PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

contributes to success and what does not. And I am con- 
vinced that the one point to which all should be directed is 
that of impressing- upon the boy's mind, by the circumstances 
that surround him, that he is born to work. A system which 
aims at this will not fail to employ him usefully as soon as he 
arrives at the proper age. 

Now, it is precisely in this that our new asylum is hope- 
lessly defective. Boys' protectories have been made success- 
ful in other places, and near cities much smaller than ours, 
which had not a tithe of the industries of Pittsburg ; yet ours, 
built at a time when Pittsburg was in the zenith of its pros- 
perity, is deficient in the most essential point, because a mis- 
taken idea of grandeur and not a sense of practical utility 
influenced those who controlled the destinies of the new in- 
stitution. There is not an asylum or protectory in the United 
States capable of accommodating the same number that has 
cost so much and is so deeply in debt'; yet, as was said, the 
city that is unparalleled on earth for the extent of its manu- 
factories, as compared with the population, was then in its 
most flourishing condition. 

A reformatory conducted on proper principles might have 
been able to receive a large number, if not all, of the Catholic 
boys who are sent to the Pennsylvania Reform School — House 
of Refuge — and, while making them contribute, in part at least, 
to their own support, would have trained them in accordance 
with Catholic principles. There are about eighty Catholic 
boys in this State institution, while there are only about half a 
dozen girls ; and although they are permitted to hear Mass and 
go to confession, their opportunities are but meagre, and they 
are obliged to be present at all the heretical exercises con- 
ducted in the chapel of the institution by whatever preacher 
the authorities chance for the time to smile upon. Besides, 
they are constantly in the company of the worst boys in the 
State. Under such circumstances it is not to be wondered at 
that they should return from the institution, after the two years 
for which they are usually entered, with nearly all ideas of re- 
ligion obliterated from their minds. 

The lamented Bishop Domenec, while occupying the See 
of Pittsburg, frequently expressed to me his desire of leaving 



S7\ PAUL'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 51 1 

the present asylum to the girls, the small boys, and found- 
lings, and of building a reformatory somewhere near the city. 
But having been trained in a Catholic country, where every- 
thing was so different from what it is here, his ideas were not 
always the most practical, and, which is more to be regretted, 
he did not keep the affairs of the new asylum from the com- 
mencement sufficiently under his control. 

A farm consisting of fifty-nine acres underlaid with coal 
and lying about five miles from Pittsburg was bequeathed to 
the asylum a few years ago, but the terms of the bequest are 
such that it will not be available for some time, and it is, be- 
sides, difficult of access. The asylum has always been main- 
tained by voluntary contributions, such as collections in the 
churches of the diocese, by donations, fairs, etc., and by money 
paid by some persons for the maintenance of certain children. 
To obviate the difficulties arising from so precarious a means 
of support, the Orphan Society founded by Father O'Reilly 
in the beginning was revived in a slightly modified form un- 
der the title of " The Rehef Association of St. Paul's R. C. 
Orphan Asylum," in May, 1878. This it was hoped would 
secure a permanent income, but it has only in part realized 
the expectation of those who revived it. 

But notwithstanding every effort to meet the liabilities of 
the institution, it was sold by the sheriff for a debt due cer- 
tain depositors about the beginning of December, 1878. But 
by a generous and united effort of the clergy and people, such 
as is seldom witnessed, much less in times like the present, 
$14,000 was immediately raised, and the institution was re- 
deemed and set afloat to meet v/hatever other storms may be 
in store for it. 

The largest number of orphans ever sheltered in the insti- 
tution at once was about two hundred and eighty, but the 
average number is about two hundred and twenty-five. A 
priest usually resides in the asylum to minister to the spiritual 
necessities of the children ; but at such times as one did not, 
they were attended from Trinity Church near by. The 
children usually spend the greater part of the day in school, 
but the larger girls do much of the sewing and housework. 
In better times they took in sewing. Little difficulty is found 



512 ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

in disposing of the girls, for as soon as they are capable of 
taking care of a child they are usually wanted, and find a 
home for the most part in the city. But it is more difficult 
to dispose of the boys, for the reasons already given. The 
future of the asylum for many years will be a struggle for 
existence, and it cannot be known with certainty at present 
whether or not it is destined to be finally successful. 

ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN ORPHAN ASYLUM, ALLEGHENY CITY. 

The German like the English orphan asylum took its rise 
near the parent church. In 1849 ^ colony of School Sisters 
of Notre Dame came to St. Philomena's Church from Balti- 
more and took charge of the female department of the school. 
A little later in the same year the new building, destined as a 
school for the children and a convent for the Sisters, was fin- 
ished and occupied. There being as yet no German orphan 
asjdum, the Sisters received the female orphans into the con- 
vent and cared for them. But the number increased, and 
their home, which was not meant to be permanent, was soon 
crowded. Measures were taken to provide a more suitable 
home, and one that would meet the future as well as the 
present wants of the destitute little ones. A very eligible lot 
of ground, containing about four acres, was purchased on 
Troy Hill in 1850, and the building of an asylum was soon 
after commenced under the supervision of the rector of St. 
Philomena's Church and a board of lay managers. The 
building was not finished for occupation until the spring of 
1853. On the 1st of May of that year a number of Sisters 
from St. Philomena's with twenty-four orphans entered their 
new home. It was a neat and substantial brick building, suffi- 
ciently large to meet the wants of the inmates for many years, 
and it stood out prominently on the brow of the hill over- 
looking the Allegheny River and the western portion of Pitts- 
burg. Being to the north-west of the cities it was not exposed 
to the smoke, while its elevated position secured a constant 
supply of fresh air and delightful scenery. But the Troy Hill 
of that day was not the Troy Hill of the present. The houses 
were few and of unpretending style. The place had yet to 



ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHAN ASYLUM. 513 

become celebrated for its beer-gardens and the boisterous 
Sunday gatherings that marked the period immediately pre- 
ceding its incorporation into the city. 

The opening of the asylum was a day of joy and festivity 
not only for the poor children, but also for the good German 
people. A grand picnic and open-air feast inaugurated the 
new institution and marked the anniversary for many years, 
until it was at length discontinued. But the Sisters and the 
children Avere not long in their new home before a calamity 
befell them which left them in a more destitute condition than 
they had been before. When the " dry summer" of 1854 had 
prepared the way for a conflagration by drying up wells and 
fountains, and when as yet the city did not supply water to 
the Troy Hill district, the asylum took fire July 25th, and was 
reduced to ashes without it being in the power of any one to 
stay the progress of the flames. The orphans had by this time 
increased to about thirty-five. The loss, beyond the amount 
covered by insurance, was $8000. A temporary home was 
prepared for the Sisters and children, and a new and much 
larger building was commenced on the site occupied by the 
former. Work was pushed forward with all speed, and the 
building was ready for occupation in an incredibly short space 
of time. The new orphanage is a splendid brick block 80 
feet in length by about 40 in width, and three stories high 
besides the basement. It is one of the most prominent build- 
ings on Troy Hill. 

The German orphan asylum did not at first enjoy the ad- 
vantages of a resident chaplain, but in the year 1853 Rev. 
John Fred. Wolf came to this country from Prussia and 
entered the Diocese of Pittsburg; and being too far advanced in 
years to enter on the mission — he was then about sixty-four — 
he was appointed chaplain of the asylum. For fourteen years 
he continued to reside in the institution and minister to the 
inmates, until he was called to his reward in a good old age, 
October i8th, 1867. His remains repose near the little mortu- 
ary chapel in the cemetery adjoining the asylum. Nothing is 
known of the life of Father Wolf beyond what is contained in 
the above lines. Upon the death of their chaplain the Sisters 
and orphans were again exposed to a season of spiritual priva- 



514 ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHAN' ASYLUM. 

tion, and were obliged for a time to go to the church of the 
Holy Name to hear Mass. But when an assistant v/as assigned 
to Father Mollinger of that church, Mass was celebrated 
regularly in the asylum. At length, in 1878, Rev. A. Ros- 
wogg was appointed resident chaplain, a position which he 
continued to fill until succeeded by Rev. J. Stillerich in July, 
1879.^ 

The number of orphans has gradually increased, and it is 
now about one hundred. Since the erection of the first 
asylum both the male and the female orphans have been 
kept in the institution. All the orphans attend school taught 
in the asylum during a certain portion of the day. The 
remaining hours are devoted by the larger boys to the care of 
the extensive garden, or to such other out-door work as may 
be assigned them, while the girls do the work of the house. 
Half-orphans as well as children deprived of both parents are 
received, and indeed, as in the English asylum, the former 
constitute the larger number. The children are disposed of 
in the same manner as those in the other asylum ; but from 
the character of their training they give more general satis- 
faction. About the year 1870 an addition was built to the 
asylum. A motion was also made about the same time to 
build a new asylum on the large farm owned by the institu- 
tion not far from the eastern part of Pittsburg. But this was 
abandoned at least until such time as it could be done without 
entailing so heavy a debt. The asylum is in a flourishing con- 
dition, and is supported by a society similar to that established 
by Father O'Reilly for the support of St. Paul's, by collections 
taken up in the German churches of the tv\'0 cities and of Al- 
legheny County, by donations, and by the produce of the large 
garden attached to the institution. A German newspaper, 
Der Republikaner, was established for the benefit of the asylum 
many years ago, on the principle that all net proceeds, after 
paying a certain interest on the money invested, should go to 
the support of the institution. The money paid to the asylum 
from this source has been variously estimated, some persons 
placing it as high as $20,000. But for certain reasons nothing 
appears to have been paid for the last few years. 



HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, 



515 



ST. MICHAEL S GERMAN ORPHAN ASYLUM, PITTSBURG, SOUTH 

SIDE. 

We remarked when sketching the history of St. Michael's 
Church, Pittsburg, that when the new convent of the Sisters 
of St. Francis was finished and occupied, in 1874, part of it 
was converted into an orphan asylum for the children of the 
congregation, where they have since been cared for and 
schooled by the Sisters. The number of orphans is neces- 
sarily small, since they are from but one parish, and will 
not perhaps exceed twelve or fifteen. But the foundation of 
the asylum besides being of advantage to the children is a 
further illustration of the energy that has characterized the 
congregation in every period of its history. It is not probable 
that the asylum will ever receive any other children than 
those of the parish, nor is it capable of accommodating many 
more than these. 

THfe HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, TROY HILL, ALLEGHENY 

CITY. 

The institute of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shep- 
herd, or the Sisters of the Good Shepherd as the order is 
more commonly called, was established by Father Eudes, in 
France, in the early part of the seventeenth century. The 
object of the institute is the offering of an asylum to females 
whose virtue is exposed to danger, or the reclaiming of such 
as have fallen from virtue and are desirous of amending their 
Hves. The rules are founded on the strictest principles of 
Christian charity, and no subject is received unless she is will- 
ing to enter ; hence the asylum is in no sense a prison. The 
inmates are divided into two classes : the penitents, or those 
who have fallen from virtue, and in whose case, as a sanitary 
precaution, certain conditions are required, and the class of 
perseverance, or those who seek a refuge from the dangers to 
which they are exposed. But the two classes are wholly 
separated from each other, and are under the care of different 



5i6 HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, 

members of the community. The better to shield from re- 
proach those who are received into the house, the greatest 
secrecy is observed respecting their condition before entering ; 
and no questions on this head are asked of the person that ac- 
companies them. A still more ingenious invention of charit}^ 
is that of giving the person received a fictitious name before 
she is introduced to the class of which she is to become a 
member. Hence not her condition only, but also her name, is 
unknown to all save the superioress. 

The period for which persons are received is commonly two 
years, at the end of which time they are either returned to their 
friends, or the Sisters endeavor to find respectable situations 
for them. But if during her stay in the asylum any one has 
given entire satisfaction and is desirous of consecrating herself 
to a life of retirement from the world, she may remain. These 
are permitted to take a peculiar habit and make an act of con- 
secration. A still higher grade are the Magdalenes. They 
are governed in many respects as the penitents are, but they 
also take the Carmelite habit with their rule and office, and 
are besides encouraged to practise certain corporal austerities 
not permitted the penitents. Magdalenes are not, however, 
found in every asylum, and as yet there are none in the one 
under consideration. 

The founder of the Order met with serious opposition from 
many prudent and influential persons, who feared that the 
bringing together of women of such character, even for the 
sake of reform, would prove a dangerous experiment. But it 
was soon apparent that it was directed by the finger of God. 
The dictates of human prudence were not, however, disre- 
garded. The selection of candidates for a mission so peculiar 
engaged special attention, and there is perhaps no other order 
in the Church so strict in this matter. The construction of 
the asylums received equal attention. They are separated 
from the convents to which they communicate by passages, 
the doors of which are always locked, and through which no 
one except the Sisters in charge of the inmates is permitted to 
pass. The Order itself is enclosed with the exception of the 
Sisters to whom the out-door business is confided, and who are 
for this reason called ''the out-door Sisters." 



HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 



517 



From a knowledge of the object to which the Sisters of the 
Good Shepherd are devoted, it will readily be seen that few 
cities in the present state of society can well afford to be 
without one of their houses. More especially is this true of a 
city like Pittsburg, where so large a proportion of the Catholic 
population is poor ; where many parents, owing to their indif- 
ference or their intemperate habits, are unfit to train up their 
children properly, and where they are obliged on account of 
their poverty to send their girls to live out without being 
careful, in all cases, to select proper places or to keep a vigi- 
lant watch over them. These and other causes made it de- 
sirable to have a house established in the city, and induced 
the Bishop to petition the community at Buffalo to give his 
diocese a foundation. His petition was granted, and six Sis- 
ters arrived at Pittsburg October ist, 1872. They took pos- 
session of a house of the Sisters of Mercy, situated at the cor- 
ner of Pride and Bluff streets, overlooking the Monongahela 
River and near the Mercy Hospital. It had for a few years 
previously been used by the Sisters of Mercy for a purpose 
somewhat similar, according to a special provision of their 
rules in cities where no House of the Good Shepherd exists. 
Here as many subjects were received as the limited accom- 
modations would permit, which was never more than four- 
teen. But the occupation of this house was dnly meant to be 
temporary. Soon a spacious lot with a large brick dwelling 
on it was purchased on Troy Hill, Allegheny. It is situated 
at the brow of the cliff overlooking the Allegheny River and 
commands a good view of both cities and the surroundings, 
and being to the north of the cities is also free from smoke. 
A frame building 80 feet in length by 30 in width, and three 
stories high besides a basement, was erected as an asylum, 
while the dwelling should be used as a convent by the Sisters. 
This new asylum was taken possession of December i6th, 
1874. The arrangement of the interior, which consists of 
school and work rooms, dormitories, etc., is admirably adapt- 
ed to the purposes for which the building was erected. 

The labors of the Sisters have generally been crowned 
with success ; for, although hearts have been met with so cal- 
lous as to resist every good impression, the number is small 



5i8 CONCLUSION. 

compared with those who have been reformed. It must not, 
however, be supposed that the girls — for unhappily the greater 
part of the subjects of such institutions are young — are main- 
tained in idleness. The first, and among the natural means 
the most powerful for preserving or restoring virtue, is useful 
occupation, and this is a truth to which the Sisters attach due 
importance. The inmates are constantly employed, with the 
exception of the time set apart for necessary recreation. Un- 
der the direction of the Sisters who have charge of the sev- 
eral departments, they do the work of the house, the sewing 
of the community, and also take in sewing ; and the younger 
girls devote a part of their time to study. But the strictest 
attention is paid to their religious and moral culture. Mass 
is daily celebrated in the chapel of the asylum ; opportunities 
are offered for the frequent reception of the sacraments, an 
exercise to which the inmates are earnestly exhorted ; pious 
reading is daily had for a suitable time in common, and noth- 
ing is omitted that could reclaim them from vice and establish 
them in virtue. There are at present about sixty inmates. 

On the 5th and 6th of May, 1878, two or three attempts 
were made by one of the older inmates to set the asylum on 
fire, but she was at length discovered and handed over to the 
civil courts for punishment. 

The community is in a flourishing condition, and from six 
members has increased to about double that number. 

CONCLUSION. 

In casting a retrospective glance over the period embraced 
within the present history, there is much to cheer, much to 
sadden the Christian heart. What a century ago was a forest, 
the habitation of savage beasts and yet more savage men, is 
now a flourishing portion of the Church of God. The httle 
colony of six persons who first planted the standard of the 
Cross in Westmoreland County ninety years ago has, like the 
single mustard-seed to which the Church is compared by our 
divine Redeemer, multiplied until it will now number per- 
haps 140,000. At first its branches began to extend in different 
directions and here and there take root, spring up and flour- 



CONCLUSION. 519 

ish ; and although many, alas ! too many, souls have been 
lost to the faith for want of priests to minister to them, 
from lack of opportunities for seeing their religion presented 
with that attractive ceremonial with which it so well knows 
how to clothe itself, from indifference contracted in the pesti- 
lential atmosphere in which they were forced to move, and 
most of all from mixed marriages by which souls were led 
astray and families were multiplied and are still being multi- 
plied, but not for God and the Church, the branches have 
still borne consoling fruit, and yet give cheering promise for 
the future. The colonies gradually spread and formed new 
ones. At first a priest would penetrate the wilderness and 
visit the scattered families, riding perhaps fifty, it may be a 
hundred miles, to visit and minister to a dozen souls — living, 
it might be said, on horseback and enduring hardships and 
exposing himself to dangers of which the world knows little, 
but which were appreciated by those in whose behalf he bore 
them. Settlements increased, the germs of congregations ap- 
peared, churches were built, parishes organized, and the 
Church gradually began to assume her proper form among 
us. But priests were as yet few, and one would be required 
to minister to two or three, perhaps to even a larger number 
of congregations. But the work of organization and subdi- 
vision went on until at present almost every church has its 
own pastor. Residences were then to be built, schools to be 
opened, and churches enlarged or replaced by others more 
commodious and substantial. Lastly, the schools were to be 
placed, as they have been in many instances, in the hands of 
rehgious. Colleges, academies, hospitals, and asylums were 
opened in their turn. The gradual steps by which these ends 
were attained have been traced in the course of the preceding 
pages. A study of these will afford a fair specimen of what 
takes place in every country but recently converted to the 
faith, or in which the faith is but recently planted. All can- 
not be accomplished in a moment, nor can that which is done 
be immediately brought to perfection. Man is prone to err, 
and the spirit of evil will not permit him to use the feeble 
powers with which he is endowed without molestation. If 
this malicious spirit cannot prevent a good work, he will 



520 



CONCLUSION. 



Study to render it in some way imperfect ; if he cannot de- 
stroy, he will try at least to vitiate. 

If then the reader should find something imperfect in the 
foregoing pages, let him not pass too severe a judgment until 
he has carefully considered all the circumstances, remembered 
the toil and labors of the few early missionaries, and the pri- 
vations and exposure of the scattered faithful, and withal the 
imperfections of the narrative, and I doubt not he will find 
more for edification than for censure. 



SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 

ERRORS IN OUR EARLY CATHOLIC HISTORY. 

"The old priest" mentioned by William Penn in 1686 — The first priest to say 
Mass in Philadelphia — The first church in Philadelphia — Miss Elizabeth 
M'Gawley's Chapel near Nicetown. 

The lack of authentic records relating to our early history, 
and the want of critical examination of such as are extant, by 
earl}'- Catholic writers, have led to numerous errors. These 
having been frequently repeated by subsequent writers have 
come at length to be accepted as historical facts, and the 
author who would call them in question is regarded with 
suspicion. Having been led to believe that certain statements 
copied from standard authors in a previous chapter of this 
work (pp. 19-21) were errors of this kind, I began a careful 
investigation of the matter, and discovered the truth just in 
time to make the necessary correction before the electrotype 
plates were cast. Wishing to place the questions beyond 
further dispute — although they refer but incidentally to the 
present history — I have determined to add this supplementary 
chapter as the best means of discussing the errors in detail. 
The hold which they have on Catholic writers, and the desire 
of demonstrating the truth once for all, have induced me to 
accumulate evidence that would otherwise be superfluous. 
The most prominent of these errors are four in number: 
''The old priest" mentioned by William Penn in 1686; the 
priest who first celebrated Mass in Philadelphia ; the first 
church built in Philadelphia; and the chapel said to have 
been built by Miss Elizabeth M'Gavvley. 

And first, of "The Old Priest:" Bernard U. Campbell, 
whose " Life and Times of Archbishop Carroll " was published 
in, the U, S. Catholic Magazine (i 844-1 846), appears to have 



522 " THE OLD FRIES rr 

been the first to claim " the old priest " for a minister of the 
true faith. Quoting Mr. Watson,''^ he sa3^s — U. S. Catholic 
Magazine, 1845, P- 252 — " As early as 1686, Wm. Penn mentions 
' the old priest ' in Philadelphia." Here, then, is the unlucky 
quotation that has led all subsequent Catholic historians 
astray. Let us go back to Penn and to Mr. Watson, from 
whom Mr. Campbell copied the statement; for had he copied 
Penn's own words, there would have been no room for 
misunderstanding. 

Penn's words are the following, as we find them in a letter 
written in the year 1686 from London to his steward James 
Harrison at Philadelphia. Lie requests Harrison to send certain 
rarities from the colony, " because people concerned ask much 
to see 'Something of the place." Among other things he says : 
" G'-et also some smoked shad and beef. The old priest at Phil- 
adelphia had rare shad." f Mr. Watson says, speaking of the 
Ivoman Catholic churches in Philadelphia;^ ''As early as 
1686 1 have recorded William Penn's letter to Harrison (his 
steward) wherein he tells him he may procure fine smoked 
shad of the old priest in Philadelphia. And in 1685 his letter 
spoke of Charles De la Noe, the French Minister, coming to 
settle among them w^ith his servants as a Vigneron. These 
remarks may prove interesting inquiries to papists themselves 
among us, none of whom I am satisfied have any idea of any 
older chapel than the one now in Willing's alley, built in 1753, 
and now called the oldest." % These extracts are the sole 
foundations for "the old priest " story. Let us examine them 
carefully. Penn's words give no clue whatever to the identity 
of the person mentioned ; his reference is purely incidental. 
Writers who quote his words seem also to overlook the fact 
that this '' old priest " must have been m Philadelphia not only 
in 1686, but at least as early as the beginning of 1684, since 
Penn, who sailed for Europe in May of that year, speaks of 
'' the old priest " as well known to himself. Now, apart from 
the extreme improbability of a Cathohc priest opening a fish- 
market at all, considered in itself, and apart from the little 

* Annals of Philadelphia, vol. i. p. 454. 
f Ibid., vol. ii. p. 411. 
X Ibid., vol. i. p. 454. 



" THE OLD priest:' 523 

custom he might expect from Quakers should he do so, can 
we suppose that Penn, who spoke of the most solemn act of 
Catholic worship as " the scandal of the Mass" — although he 
may not have done so out of pure bigotry — would permit a 
Catholic priest to live and traffic under his eyes in a colony 
of which he was sole proprietary ? 

Again, there were, as we shall see in the sequel, but two 
English-speaking priests in North America at that time ; and 
it is beyond the reach of credibility that one of these should 
already be located and in business in a city laid out but two 
years before, when seventy-three years later, that is in 1757, 
there were only 397 Catholics, English and German, in and 
about Philadelphia.'^ And the more so as Catholic Maryland 
was sufficiently near, from which a priest could have visited 
the few Catholics if there had been any at that time in the 
city and vicinity, as they were afterwards visited. Besides, 
from the character of the immigrants it is fair to suppose that 
there were none whatever in the colony at that early day. 
No further mention is made of a priest until 1708, twenty- 
four years later, and it is certain he did not then reside in 
the city'.' There is no authentic record of a priest residing at 
Philadelphia until 1730 or 1732, that is at least forty-six years 
after " the old priest " was selling his '' rare shad." 

Mr. Watson, in the passage above quoted, is the first and 
only original authority for referring the words '' the old 
priest " to a Cathohc clergyman. But he, it is well to bear in 
mind, wrote about the year 1830, when reliable tradition had 
ceased to exist, and before historical criticism had investigated 
the matter so thoroughly as it has done at the present day. 
That Mr. Watson did not consider it a question deserving of 
careful investigation, and did not in fact investigate it, is clearly 
to be inferred from his own words : '^ These remarks may 
prove interesting inquiries for the papists themselves among 
us." But it is still more evident from his associating the name 
of Charles De la Noe with Penn's reference to '' the old priest," 
by which he gives us to understand that he regarded De la 
Noe as a Catholic because he was a Frenchman, although he 

* Colonial Record, vol. vii. p. 328. 



524 JACOBUS FABRICIUS ''THE OLD PRIEST." 

proves in another part of his "x\nnals" (vol. ii. p. 112) that 
De la Noe was a Huguenot. Hence Mr. Watson, so far from 
adding weight to the words of Penn, only gives them a false 
interpretation and leads the reader astray. 

Mr. Willis P. Hazard, who was employed to write a third 
volume of "Annals of Philadelphia," with a view, among other 
objects, of correcting, by the light of recent investigations, 
some of the errors into which Mr. Watson had fallen, when 
writing on the introduction of Catholicity into Philadelphia, 
altogether ignores the affair of "the old priest.""^ Again, 
Mr. Thompson Westcott, member of the Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania, whose " History of Philadelphia" Mr. Hazard in 
his "Annals" (preface) calls " that monument of perseverance, 
research, and historical acumen" which "will be quoted as 
long as the State exists," also ignores " the old priest " story 
when writing professedly of " the Catholic Church in Phila- 
delphia before I75i."t 

Whom then did Penn mean by " the old priest" ? In 
the answer to this question we shall find additional proof of 
our position. Penn's letter, as I have said, affords no clue 
whatever to his identity ; but it shows, when examined by the 
light of intrinsic evidence and history, that he could not have 
been a CathoHc priest. There can be little doubt that Jacobus 
Fabricius, the German preacher of the Swedish Lutheran 
Church, was meant. He was in Philadelphia from 1677 to 
1 69 1, and although blind for a part of the time he had his 
agent Jacob Yung to look after his temporahties.:}: 

In addition to this accumulation of evidence, the Corre- 
sponding Secretar}^ of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 
himself a Catholic, writes me : " In the entire lack of any evi- 
dence to the contrary I have no reason to doubt that the gentle- 
man referred to was the Rev. Jacobus Fabricius, the Dutch 
pastor of the Swedish Lutheran congregation at Wicacoa, 
near Gloria Dei Protestant Episcopal Church in Philadephia. 

* Annals of Philadelphia, vol. iii. p. 316. 

f A History of Philadelphia from the Time of the First Settlement on the Dela- 
ware to the Consolidation of the City and District in 1854, chap. cxv. It was 
published in the Sunday Dispatch, but is to appear in book form. 

XK History of New Sweden, etc., by Israel Acrelius, pp. 177-179. 



THE FIRST PRIEST IN PHILADELPHIA. 525 

The term ' priest ' was applied to this person by his own sec- 
taries, and was constantly used by William Penn and . his 
fellow-Quakers in speaking of ministers of the Gospel, of what- 
ever denomination of Christians." The same gentleman — to 
whom I acknowledge myself under special obligations in 
this matter — again writes : ** As to the person indicated being 
Fabricius I feel the more confident to decide in consequence 
of my having made a special study of the early Swedish 
settlement on the Delaware." 

When all available evidence has been brought to bear on 
the question, we are forced to conclude that '' the old priest" 
was not and could not have been a Catholic clergyman, but 
that a degree of probability amounting almost to certainty 
points to Rev. Jacobus Fabricius as the person meant. 

The second question to engage our attention is this : By 
whom was the first Mass — that of 1708 — celebrated in Phila- 
delphia? This question cannot, strictly speaking, be called 
an error of history, but it is a subject of useful and interest- 
ing inquiry, and the more so as those who have written 
professedly of the foundation of Catholicity in Philadelphia 
have devoted no attention to it. 

Mr. Westcott* shall again be our guide. Having men- 
tioned the Mass spoken of by Penn in 1708, he continues : 
"" Beyond this mere reference, there is very little known in 
reference to the introduction of the Catholic religion in Phila- 
delphia in 1708. But . . . certain facts have been de- 
rived from John Gilmary Shea of New York . . . which 
add very much to the interest attached to this subject. It has 
lately been discovered by investigation in England, by the- 
Very Rev. Pamfilo da Magliano, Provincial of the Order of 
Franciscans in this country, that there were missionaries of 
that order in North America long beffore the Jesuits estab- 
lished the Catholic religion on a firm basis. This list of Fran- 
ciscan missionaries is as follows : 

" 1674. Poly carp Wicksted sent. He died before April, 
1725. 

''Basil Hobard, or Hubbard; died in Maryland, July, 
1698. 

* A History of Philadelphia, etc., chap, cxcii., note. 



526 THE FIRST CHURCH IN PHILADEIPHIA. 

*' Massey Massey; returned to England in 1677; died in 
England before October, 1702. 

" Henry of St. Francis. 

"• 1675. Edward Golding. 

" 1677. Henry Carew; died at sea about 1683. 

"1700. James Haddock; died in Maryland on or before 
1720. 

'' Bruno Taylor; returned on or before 1704. 

" From this list," continues Mr. Westcott, " it seems prob- 
able that Polycarp Wicksted and James Haddock were in 
North America in 1708. In regard to Edward Golding and 
Henry St. Francis, there is nothing to establish when they 
died or left the country. Probability, therefore, points to 
Father Wicksted or to Father Haddock as being the celebrant 
of the Mass in Philadelphia in 1707-8. In a letter from 
the Rev. John Talbot to George Keith . . . under date 
of Feb. 14th, 1708, he says: ' I saw Mr. Bradford in New 
York. He tells me that Mass is set up and read publicly in 
Philadelphia.'" 

As regards the first church or chapel in Philadelphia, Mr. 
B. U. Campbell, in the work already quoted, has made 
another erroneous statement, in w^hich subsequent historians 
have blindly followed him. Having cited the passage from 
Watson's ''Annals of Philadelphia" referring to ''the old 
priest," he adds: "Watson . . . says, 'This early men- 
tioned Mass probably had its origin in the frame building 
on the north-west corner of Front and Walnut streets, w^hich 
was the first chapel in Philadelphia.' " * 

Mr. Westcott ignores this statement also, as he did that 
of "the old priest." Speaking of the early history of 
Catholicity, he says : f " The early records of the Catholic 
Church in Philadelphia are very meagre. . . . There were 
but few attractions for Catholics in the young colony. Hence 
the number of persons of that persuasion coming into Penn- 
sylvania during the first twenty-five years after the settle- 
ment of Philadelphia must have been few. . . . 

*Life and Times of Archbishop Carroll, United States Catholic Magazine^ 
1845, P- 252. 

f A History of Philadelphia, etc., chap. cxv. 



" THE SCANDAL OF THE MASS." S^l 

" The first notice that we have of the exercise of worship 
by the Catholics is contained in a letter from Penn to Logan, 
dated 29th, seventh mo., 1708:* 

''* Here is a complaint against your government, that you 
suffer publick Mass in a scandalous manner. Pray send the 
matter of fact, for ill use is made of it against us here.' 
In another letter from Penn to a correspondent in Philadel- 
phia, he says : ' It has become a reproach to me here with 
the officers of the crown that you have suffered the scandal 
of the Mass to be publickly celebrated.' " To this the historian 
adds : " This may seem somewhat intolerant ; but it must 
not be considered as a voluntary protest of Penn in conse- 
quence of over-zeal. At the time at which these letters 
were written the ' hot church party ' in Pennsylvania were 
exceedingly bitter against the proprietary government, and 
no effort was spared to prejudice the British Government 
against the provincial administration. A remonstrance, there- 
fore, against Catholicism would seem to be a matter that 
would create a very strong impression in Great Britain, and 
help the project to have substituted a royal government for 
the proprietary government, established under the charter. 
Penn himself could not have refused to notice the subject, 
inasmuch as adverse action upon those complaints in England 
might have entirely prevented the exercise of religious liberty 
in the province, to secure which had been to him a labor 
of time, expense, and feeling." 

The provincial government does not appear to have taken 
any action in the matter of the Mass referred to by Penn. 

" At what precise place these religious exercises were 
held," continues Mr. Westcott, *' is now unknown. Mr. Wat- 
son, in his 'Annals of Philadelphia,' f mentions three places 
in which, according to very vague and unreliable statements, 
Catholic worship might have been held. One of these, he 
says, was at the north-west corner of Front and Walnut 
streets, and he gives as an authority some statements made 
by persons who rested their belief upon hearsay." Having 

* Penn and Logan Correspondence, vol. ii. p, 294. 
f Vol. i. pp. 452, 453. 



528 THE FIRST CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA. 

traced, from the city records, the ownership of the lot at 
the above place from its transfer by Penn to another Quaker, 
April 29th, 1683, to the present time, the historian remarks: 
" The special matter of interest connected with the history of 
this property from 1683 to the present period is that at no 
time during that long space of years has it been owned by 
any other person than a member of the Society of Friends. 
. . . It is impossible that, at any time previous to the 
death of Dickinson (one of the owners), in 1722, there could 
have been any Catholic worship in a house which was inhab- 
ited by Quakers." After carefully debating the case, he con- 
cludes: "It is possible that some tenant, between 1722 and 
1732, may have permitted some occasional solemnization of 
the ]Mass there, but the occurrence must have been excep- 
tional." That a chapel properly so called ever stood at the 
place is thus proven to be evidently false. 

As to the second place spoken of as the site of a chapel, 
Mr. Westcott remarks : '* Mr. Watson * mentions a statement 
by a lady who had heard it said that ' the house at the south- 
east corner of Second and Chestnut streets was built for a 
Papal chapel.' This statement also rests on hearsay, and is 
worthy of little credence." He then proceeds to prove that 
it cannot be regarded as true. 

Which, then, and where was the first church in Philadel- 
phia ? There can be no doubt w^hatever that St. Joseph's 
Jesuit church was the first. Sa3^s ^Ir. Westcott : f ''In the 
year 1730, or 1732 (accounts differ as to date), the Rev. Joseph 
Greaton, a member of the Society of Jesus, was sent from 
iNIaryland to Philadelphia. . . . Father Greaton must 
have found in the city a sufficient number of Catholics 
to justify the establishment of a church. He procured 
ground south of Walnut Street and east of Fourth Street, ad- 
joining the Friends' Almshouse, under the shelter of which it 
is to be presumed he hoped for the protection which a more 
open position might not have insured. It is said that his 
original congregation consisted of eleven persons, and it is re- 

* Annals of Philadelphia, vol. i. p. 453. 

f A History of Philadelphia, chap. cxv. See also Watson's Annals, vol. iii. 
p. 318. 



ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH. 529 

lated that Father Greaton was compelled to make his church 
very modest in appearance by including in it what seemed to 
be his dwellmg-house. . . . The whole establishment 
(church and parsonage) must have been small, inasmuch as 
afterward, when it was enlarged, the building thus increased 
occupied a space of forty feet by forty feet. This little 
church was dedicated to St. Joseph. Although its opening 
did not probably attract immediate attention, it was not long 
used before the provincial authorities, anxious it is to be pre- 
sumed to avoid difficulty with England, had their attention 
called to the circumstance. At a meeting of the Provincial 
Council, at which Thomas Penn, one of the proprietaries, 
was present, and Lieutenant-Governor Patrick Gordon pre- 
sided, which was held on the 25th of July, 1734," the matter 
was presented to the Council, and it was asked if it was not 
contrary to the laws of England to permit '' the publick exer- 
cise of that religion." At a meeting held on the 31st of the 
same month the matter was resumed. * 

'^ Whether Governor Gordon wrote to England upon the 
subject," continues Mr. Westcott, '* or whether he abandoned 
it, is unknown. It is certain, however, that there was no fur- 
ther attempt made to meddle with St. Joseph's Church, which 
went on slowly increasing in numbers without molestation. 
Kalm, the Swedish traveller, who wrote about the period 
1748-50, says, ' The Roman Catholics have in the south-west 
part of the town a great house, which is well adorned within, 
and has an organ.' " f 

As regards the last error to be noticed, that relating to the 
chapel said to have been built by Miss M'Gawley, Mr. Camp- 
bell is the guide ; and all, without exception, have followed 
more or less closely in his erratic footsteps. Taken together, 
the errors exposed in this chapter are fair specimens of the 
injury that is sometimes done to the cause of truth by repeat- 
ing statements that have been advanced without sufficient 
grounds. After quoting Mr. Watson substantially as given 
below by Mr. Westcott, the author of the " Life and Times of 

* Colonial Records, vol. iii. pp. 546, 563. 
f A History of Philadelphia, etc.. chap. cxv. 



530 JOHN MICHAEL BROWN. 

Archbishop Carroll," in the place already referred to, adds: 
'' The testimony of Watson is (conformable to the local tradi- 
tion, although the inscription (on the tombstone) does not 
determine the priestly character of Brown." 

Mr. Westcott in the work already cited states the ques- 
tion of the M'Gawley chapel, and disposes of it in the follow- 
ing manner : '' Mr. Watson also says, ' There was a Roman 
chapel near the city of Philadelphia as early as the year 
1729. At tnat time Elizabeth M'Gawley, an Irish lady, 
and single, brought over a number of tenantry, and with 
them settled on the land on the road leading from Nicetown 
to Frankford. Connected with her house she had the said 
chapel. Near the place, one eighth of a mile off, is a stone 
enclosure, in which is a large tombstone of marble inscribed 
with a cross and the name ''John Michael Brown, ob. 15th 
December, a.d. 1750. R. L P." He was a priest.'* Such 
research as the writer has been able to make in the records at 
Philadelphia has been insufficient to verify this statement ex- 
actly in the shape in which it has been made. No deed or 
grant to Elizabeth M'Gawley, or Gawley, or M'Cauley, has 
been found. There is no deed on record from this lady, nor is 
there any registry of her will or record of grant of letters of 
administration upon her estate. John Michael Brown, how- 
ever, is not a myth ; but he was no priest. On the 20th of 
Oct., 1742, John Michael Brown, 'Doctor in Physic,' bought 
. . . two hundred and ninety-three acres, situate upon 
the road leading from Frankford to Germantown. . . . 
On the 2d of May, 1747, Dr. John Michael Brown and Sarah, 
his wife, granted to Joseph Greaton, who was at that time 
the pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Philadelphia, 
seven and three quarter acres of this land, fronting on the 
road running from Frankford to Germantown. . . . The 
consideration was £\6. ... If there ever was any 
Roman Catholic chapel near Nicetown, it must have been 
built on this ground bought by Father Greaton, and after the 
year 1747. Mr. Watson* vouches for the statement by De- 
borah Logan (wife of Dr. George Logan, grandson of James 

* Annals of Philadelphia, vol. i. p, 453. 



CONCLUSION. 531 

Logan, proprietary-governor for William Penn) that she 
remembers the ruins of such a church when she was a girl. 
. . . Probably if such a chapel was erected it was not long 
maintained. . . . Dr. Brown was undoubtedly a Catho- 
lic. He describes himself as ' late of the West Indies, but 
now of Pennsylvania, a doctor of physic' In the v/ill is a 
bequest of i^io, Irish, to Robert Kirwan, Bonnatopler, 'to be 
laid out in masses.' . . . Under these circumstances it 
seems most likely that Dr. Brown would have been buried 
in consecrated ground. If there had been any chapel and 
burial ground on his plantation he would have preferred that 
his body should there be interred. But in this particular his 
will is peculiar He orders ' my body to be interred in as 
private a manner as possible in the orchard on my planta- 
tion.' " t From these extracts one must necessarily conclude : 
First, that it is very doubtful whether there ever was a land- 
owner by the name of Elizabeth M'Gawley ; secondly, that 
it is almost certain there never was a chapel at all at the 
place mentioned, but if so, it could not have been earlier 
than 1747 ; thirdly, that John Michael Brown was not a 
priest, although it is very probable that Mass was sometimes 
said in his house, for m his will he mentions among his per- 
sonal property *' one church vestment, one chalice." 

It is believed that a careful perusal of this chapter, and of 
the authorities adduced, all of which I have quoted from the 
originals, will set these vexed historical questions at rest 
forever. 

* Annals of Philadelphia, vol. i., p. 453. 
f A History of Philadelphia, etc., chap. cxv. 



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